BAQOUBA, Iraq -- Shortly after entering the police station, Staff Sgt. Daniel Blalock of the 1-5 Infantry Regiment found himself in the embrace of an Iraqi police officer.

"I knew it was going to be a sad day when we told them we couldn't come back," Blalock said, after he returned the hug.

Blalock and other members of 1-5's Charlie Company had come to the station, just north of Baqouba in Diyala province, Iraq, on a mission to help train the Iraqi Emergency Response Force. The ERF, a special branch of the Iraqi police trained for security operations, had worked with the American soldiers for months, and today was the final session.

For several members of Charlie Company, it was also their last day in the country before beginning the journey home to Alaska.

In the open courtyard of the station, the U.S. troops began drilling the ERF members on room clearing. Staff Sgts. Juan Batista and Bradley Thomas led the Iraqis through establishing defensive positions, kicking down doors and doing a sweep of a mock room. Each four-member team rotated through the training while the other police officers sat and watched in the shade of the building, waiting for their turn.

"Seems like we've done a couple hundred training exercises with these guys," Thomas said. He praised the ERF members' initiative. "They really want to learn what we teach. They've grown as a whole team."

In an office next to the square, Iraqi Sgt. Maj. Abdul Hadi reflected on the time his men and the American soldiers had spent together. He happily recounted how the security situation had improved over the course of the 1-25th Stryker Brigade's deployment in the area, but when asked about the situation going forward, his mood darkened.

"It was bad, that June 30 withdrawal," Hadi said, referencing the date when the security agreement that barred U.S. troops from operating unescorted in urban areas went into effect. "There are militias in the cities, and the Iraqi authorities do not have the strength to control them.

"Lots of officers who were in Saddam Hussein's government are getting back into positions of authority," Hadi continued, "And they are seeking power again. I trust the U.S. forces more than I trust the Iraqi government. Our relationship is better."

Blalock reassured Hadi that soldiers from the brigade replacing the 1-25th would continue the work that they had started together, but Hadi still seemed unhappy about the Alaska-based soldiers’ departure.

Out in the courtyard, Thomas corrected the ERF members as they entered the mock building. "You're waiting too long in the door," he said. "If there’s a bad guy waiting, he'll pop you right as soon as you enter, and then your buddies can't get in to help you." He pantomimed a shooting motion as the first Iraqi officer entered the room and paused in the doorway. "And remember, you should have your gun up as soon as you come in. You step across the threshold, it should already be at your shoulder." The translator struggled to keep up as Thomas barked orders.

After a few hours in the late morning sun, the training ended. Blalock, Hadi and a few other members of the American and Iraqi forces ate a traditional Iraqi meal and posed for pictures together. Hugs and e-mail addresses were exchanged, and then the U.S. troops put their body armor on and walked out to their Stryker vehicles.

Hadi escorted the Americans through the Baqouba area in an Iraqi police SUV. When they reached the main road out of town, he pulled over and let the vehicles pass. The rear gunners waved to him until he was no longer visible, obscured by the Strykers' trailing cloud of dust.

Tom Hewitt is a journalism student at UAF. Since returning from Iraq, he has served both as the editor-in-chief and web editor of The Sun Star. He eagerly awaits the opportunity to seek a job in journalism after graduating, taking the contrarian view that a market with lots of unemployed Pulitzer Prize winners must be good for those with no experience. All photos courtesy of the UAF Journalism Department.