Honolulu police officer Bill McCoy hasn't worked with rookies since his days at the department's training academy in Waipahu.

But since deploying to Iraq with his Army Reserve unit in January 2004, all the 31-year-old traffic division officer does is train police cadets.

"They're very eager to learn and they're very proud," McCoy said in a telephone interview from Logistical Support Area Anaconda, an Army base north of Baghdad. "The difficult part is we work through interpreters and it slows the process down."

McCoy, 31, is one of about 40 Honolulu police officers serving in Iraq after being called up with their Reserve or Guard units. Officers from Maui, Kaua'i and the Big Island are also in the country.

He has been assigned to a team of soldiers that travels to police stations in the area and trains Iraqi police cadets. The team is the first of its kind operating in Iraq to be made up entirely of Reserve and National Guard troops who work as police officers in their civilian life.

Two other soldiers from Hawai'i work with McCoy, a Reserve officer assigned to the 100th Battalion.

The group teaches basic police tactics including weapons training, self defense, interview techniques and domestic-violence training. Often, the officers set up substations and budgets.

"A lot of these people were farmers," said Barry Deblake, 36, a Kaua'i police officer and staff sergeant in the Hawai'i National Guard. "That's kind of why we had to teach them the skills from the ground up."

Iraqi police stations and police recruits are favorite targets of insurgents.

Couple that anxiety with sweltering temperatures, 75 pounds of gear and a language barrier, and the work can get tough.

"The first three times we went out, I wouldn't say we were scared, but we were very alert," said Deblake.

McCoy added: "An eight-hour class will take 16 hours because of the translator. A lot of things don't translate literally and that kind of throws a monkey wrench into things."

Kyle Yonemura, a National Guard captain, said the Army's seven-day-a-week, 12-hour-a-day work schedule differs drastically from his shifts as an HPD sergeant stationed in Kapolei.

"Even though my job (back home) can be rough, it is nothing, nothing compared to what we see out here," Yonemura said. "And I don't get to submit an overtime card."

Police officers called up to active duty are put on leave by their departments and may return to their jobs when they come home.

"We are very proud of our officers who are serving on active duty, and our prayers and thoughts are with them and their families," said Honolulu Police Chief Boisse Correa. "We hope that the training that our officers received here can in some way help others halfway around the world to promote peace and order."

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.