ERBIL () - Mohammed Salihi, a Kurdish-American law enforcement officer who grew up in Kirkuk, has assumed the role of City Chief Marshal in Manchester, in the US state of Georgia, taking responsibility for establishing a new municipal law enforcement agency from the ground up.
For Salihi, the appointment marks both a professional milestone and the latest stage of a journey that began far from the American law enforcement system he now serves.
Reflecting on his path in a post shared on Instagram, Salihi traced it from his childhood in Kurdistan through his move to the United States and his years wearing a police badge.
"From the mountains of Kurdistan to Chief Marshal,"he wrote.
Salihi said the path from growing up in Kirkuk to building a life in America and entering law enforcement had been shaped by years of work, sacrifice and personal development.
"I've come a long way from the kid I once was,"he wrote, describing a progression from Kirkuk to the United States and eventually into patrol duties and public service.
His new position carries a different responsibility from simply moving into another rank. As Chief Marshal of the Manchester City Marshal's Office, Salihi is taking on the task of building a municipal agency at its beginning, giving him a role in shaping how the new office develops and serves the community.
That distinction makes the appointment a notable step in a career that has moved from frontline police work into leadership.
Salihi's own reflections, however, focus less on titles than on the experiences that brought him to the position.
"Every chapter brought lessons, challenges, sacrifices, and growth,"he wrote.
He also framed the journey through his personal faith. Looking back at decisions that appeared calculated at the time, Salihi said he had come to view his progress differently.
"I thought it was a chess move, but it was God's grace,"he wrote.
Kirkuk Remains Part of the Story
Although Salihi now serves an American municipality, his description of his achievement places his Kurdish origins at the center of the story rather than treating them simply as background.
His opening reference to "the mountains of Kurdistan"and his recollection of growing up in Kirkuk connect his current position to the place where his life began.
That journey also reflects the distance between arriving in a new country and eventually assuming responsibility for a public institution within it.
Salihi described his appointment as an opportunity to serve the community around him while remaining conscious of where he came from.
"Today, I'm honored to serve my community as Chief Marshal of the Manchester City Marshal's Office,"he wrote.
For a law enforcement officer, becoming Chief Marshal brings a new level of responsibility. In Salihi's case, that includes helping establish the structure and direction of a newly created municipal office rather than inheriting a fully developed agency.
His public message suggested that he sees the appointment not as the conclusion of his career but as another beginning.
"Proud of where I came from. Grateful for how far I've come,"Salihi wrote. "And I know this is only the beginning."
The words capture the two strands running through his account of the appointment: attachment to his Kurdish background and a career built in the United States.
From childhood in Kirkuk to public service in America, Salihi's rise to Chief Marshal now places him in a position to build an institution of his own, carrying the experience of that journey into the next stage of his law enforcement career.
