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The Beginning By Mike Harris - President, November 2003...I discovered through media coverage that the Iraqi Police and military, which were working with our troops, had little or nothing in the way of equipment and especially in the forms of safety gear. Having been in law enforcement for over 30 years, I knew that about every agency in every state has surplus and expired equipment that was a burden as to what was to do with it when it was no longer serviceable.
With this venture I really learned how short in supply the Iraqi police were in equipment. On inquiring what the Fresno Police Department was planning for its stacks of surplus items, I discovered that it was slated for destruction. I asked if I could have the surplus items for this project and it was found that getting a waiver of liability from the Iraqi government was needed in order to donate items, like the ballistic vests that were surpluses or expired. This was done with the help of a City Attorney and our project took on a new life. The Fresno City Council endorsed this concept and we had gear to send. In February 2004, four others and myself made a trip to Iraq. After an adventurous ordeal in getting there, we made it to Baquobah, where we met with Iraqi Officials. The donated vests, radios, helmets leather equipment, and riot equipment were a smash hit and our mission was now one that had a great deal of meaning. Our group from Fresno found a way to assist the war effort in a substantial way. We outfitted 500 Iraqi policemen with this effort.
Fresno Council Member Jerry Duncan's Trip to Iraq with BOTB, April 23rd to May 7th 2006At the invitation of General Turner of the US Army's 101st Airborne, I joined Fresno Police Officer Brian Burry and Fresno lawyer and Fresno County Sheriff Reserve Deputy Ron Sawl as representatives of Fresno based Brotherhood Of The Badge for a visit to Camp Speicher in Tikrit, Iraq. Brotherhood Of the Badge's mission is to collect surplus police equipment (such as ballistic vests and helmets) from police departments around the country and deliver it to US military authorities in Iraq and Afghanistan. They then provide this vital personal protection equipment to the civilian police personnel. The purpose of the trip was for the team to be able to personally assess the needs of the civilian Iraqi Police forces in the Salah ad-Din Province. We were imbedded with the 3rd combat brigade under the command of Colonel Michael Steele and were assigned to Major Michael Elliot (who is from Fresno). We also had the honor of having Lt. John Pettis from San Francisco as our liaison officer. During our time there we had the opportunity to visit Saddam Hussein's home town palace complex in Tikrit, the Provincial Police Headquarters and Government Center in Tikrit, the Headquarters and a police sub-station in Bayji and a Blackhawk helicopter trip to Northern Iraq to visit the Police Academy in Sulaimaniyah in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. The mission of the 101st Airborne is quite simple. They are working to help the Iraqi's establish the proper local government and police functions so they can function on their own. When they can do so, mission accomplished and they can come home. The Iraqi people we met were all enthusiastic about having their freedom and it is clear they are working hard with the US military to learn what democracy means and how it works. It is important to remember that for 30 years under Saddam, freedom to the Iraqi people was only a dream. They have much to learn and they are making significant progress. During our trip there we were able to talk to and spend time with countless US Soldiers, US civilian there to train the Iraqi Police, Salah ad-Din Provincial Governor Hamad Hamood Shekti, Provincial Police Chief General Mazher Taha Ahmad as well as many other police officials and Iraqi civilians. There was no place we could not go and no one we were not allowed to talk too. Click here to go to Council Memeber Jerry Duncan's Web site
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