thedrifter
07-10-07, 05:44 AM
Pomona police aid Iraqi counterparts
Officers donating uniforms
By Monica Rodriguez, Staff Writer
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Article Launched:07/09/2007 11:21:30 PM PDT
POMONA - A little bit of the Police Department is going to Iraq.
For the past three weeks, members of the department have been going through their closets and pulling out uniforms to send to their counterparts in Iraq.
"These are good, wearable, functioning uniforms," said Sgt. Dexter Cole, who works in the department's Internal Affairs Office.
Monday he delivered five large boxes of uniforms to the 7th Marine Regiment at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, which will ship the garments to Iraq.
Cole began collecting uniforms after being contacted by Marines, now deployed in Iraq, who are members of the same Knights of Columbus council as the Pomona police sergeant.
The Marines, aware Cole is a police officer, explained that Iraqi police don't have much equipment.
"Iraqi police are given an AK-47, 30 rounds of ammunition and most have a small, laminated card on a cord for identification," Cole said.
Working in the war-torn country without a uniform identifying them as law enforcement puts them in difficult situations involving U.S. military personnel, he said.
"There have been some near-friendly fire situations between (Iraqi) police and our Marines," Cole said.
The end result was more than 100 shirts and about 100 pairs of pants, Cole said.
He said he frequently asked his Marine contacts for direction on what they'd like to have but the response was always the same - they'd take anything he could get.
"This is kind of a test project," Cole said, adding his contacts would like to be able to outfit about 1,300 Iraqi police officers in Fallujah.
If this batch of uniforms meets the needs of Iraqi police, the next step would be to contact other law-enforcement agencies and ask them to carry out collections, Cole said.
He added that if every police agency in Los Angeles County contributes 100 uniforms the effort "could have a positive effect."
The only changes made to the uniforms was removing the department's patches from shirt sleeves.
Cole, along with administrative assistant Stella Diaz and records personnel, worked to remove the patches.
Diaz said she was glad to help because she saw Cole's project as a worthy cause but also because it was a way of helping American troops, she said. And because she has a son who served in the Navy.
"I kind of like to do stuff for the military," Diaz said.
Cpl. Willy Morataya, who works in patrol, donated a half dozen uniforms, some slightly faded but still good and some never worn but a little tight.
Morataya, who served in the Navy, said he often thinks of Iraq and those there so he didn't think twice about giving some uniforms he'd been hanging onto.
"For some reason I'd been saving them but I don't know for what. Maybe this was the reason," Morataya said.
"I think it's just better to have it go to help someone else."
These uniforms may help some of his Iraqi counterparts "so they can at least look official," Morataya said.
Civilian personnel, like Mercedes Orantes, also helped out. Orantes had two used and two new uniforms she no longer needed after a reassignment required her to wear a different color uniform.
"It makes us all feel like there's something we can do to help out," Orantes said.
Staff writer Monica Rodriguez can be reached by e-mail at m_rodriguez@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-9336.
Ellie
Officers donating uniforms
By Monica Rodriguez, Staff Writer
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Article Launched:07/09/2007 11:21:30 PM PDT
POMONA - A little bit of the Police Department is going to Iraq.
For the past three weeks, members of the department have been going through their closets and pulling out uniforms to send to their counterparts in Iraq.
"These are good, wearable, functioning uniforms," said Sgt. Dexter Cole, who works in the department's Internal Affairs Office.
Monday he delivered five large boxes of uniforms to the 7th Marine Regiment at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, which will ship the garments to Iraq.
Cole began collecting uniforms after being contacted by Marines, now deployed in Iraq, who are members of the same Knights of Columbus council as the Pomona police sergeant.
The Marines, aware Cole is a police officer, explained that Iraqi police don't have much equipment.
"Iraqi police are given an AK-47, 30 rounds of ammunition and most have a small, laminated card on a cord for identification," Cole said.
Working in the war-torn country without a uniform identifying them as law enforcement puts them in difficult situations involving U.S. military personnel, he said.
"There have been some near-friendly fire situations between (Iraqi) police and our Marines," Cole said.
The end result was more than 100 shirts and about 100 pairs of pants, Cole said.
He said he frequently asked his Marine contacts for direction on what they'd like to have but the response was always the same - they'd take anything he could get.
"This is kind of a test project," Cole said, adding his contacts would like to be able to outfit about 1,300 Iraqi police officers in Fallujah.
If this batch of uniforms meets the needs of Iraqi police, the next step would be to contact other law-enforcement agencies and ask them to carry out collections, Cole said.
He added that if every police agency in Los Angeles County contributes 100 uniforms the effort "could have a positive effect."
The only changes made to the uniforms was removing the department's patches from shirt sleeves.
Cole, along with administrative assistant Stella Diaz and records personnel, worked to remove the patches.
Diaz said she was glad to help because she saw Cole's project as a worthy cause but also because it was a way of helping American troops, she said. And because she has a son who served in the Navy.
"I kind of like to do stuff for the military," Diaz said.
Cpl. Willy Morataya, who works in patrol, donated a half dozen uniforms, some slightly faded but still good and some never worn but a little tight.
Morataya, who served in the Navy, said he often thinks of Iraq and those there so he didn't think twice about giving some uniforms he'd been hanging onto.
"For some reason I'd been saving them but I don't know for what. Maybe this was the reason," Morataya said.
"I think it's just better to have it go to help someone else."
These uniforms may help some of his Iraqi counterparts "so they can at least look official," Morataya said.
Civilian personnel, like Mercedes Orantes, also helped out. Orantes had two used and two new uniforms she no longer needed after a reassignment required her to wear a different color uniform.
"It makes us all feel like there's something we can do to help out," Orantes said.
Staff writer Monica Rodriguez can be reached by e-mail at m_rodriguez@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-9336.
Ellie