Military Police contains information about military police functions in maneuver and mobility support, area security, law and order, internment/resettlement, and police intelligence operations.
Issue link: https://militarypolice.epubxp.com/i/484012
40 MILITARY POLICE . 19-15-1 By First Lieutenant Sara K. Sbarbaro T he Nordic Defense Cooperation biannually conducts a 3-week United Nations Military Police Course (UNMILPOC) in Aalborg, Denmark. This past fall, the 18th Military Police Brigade sent two junior offcers and two noncommissioned offcers (NCOs) to the course, which consisted of 34 students from 17 different nations. The objective of UNMILPOC is to teach offcers and NCOs from many different nations how to learn, operate and, even- tually, instruct in a multinational military police environ- ment. Like the U.S. Army Military Police School (USAMPS), UNMILPOC incorporates the military police func- tional areas. However, unlike many U.S. military schools, UNMILPOC does not focus on improving upon specifc military tactics; rather, it focuses on attaining a baseline understanding of operational environments and solutions for international problems. There are four main areas of UNMILPOC focus: • Offcer administration. • Offcer operations. • NCO administration. • NCO operations. These focus areas are intended to present students with a common platform for military police operations within a multinational military police unit in a United Nations, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or coalition operational area. The frst week of the fall 2014 course began with Eng- lish classes in the mornings. These classes offered U.S. Soldiers the unique opportunity to serve as assistant Eng- lish instructors—especially in the areas of land naviga- tion and vehicle maintenance military terms. The English classes were followed by operations classes, which focused on decisionmaking, presentation, and communication. Of- fcers were grouped into teams of three; the teams created operation orders for military police missions, such as per- sonal security detachment and area security operations. NCOs were grouped into teams of fve; those teams planned and sometimes executed squad level missions. Representa- tives from each country had their own ideas about which particular section was most essential, and each country had its own standard for writing operation orders. Additionally, team members possessed varied skill and language levels, which led to some confusion but, eventually, to some unique products. In general, U.S. Soldiers were considerably more detail-oriented and tactically aggressive than others, where- as Nordic countries tended to use a signifcant number of local police for operational support. The second week of the course focused on United Nations- themed basic police skills, administration, and military po- lice reports. A hands-on approach toward riot control and professional law enforcement was used during this portion of the course. Riot control training started by exposing stu- dents (with and without the protection of masks) to tear gas and eventually progressed to setting them afre with Molo- tov cocktails. Additional training consisted of teams of two extinguishing a dummy that had been set afre, rescuing a gas canister from a burning building, and deescalating dem- onstrations. Most of the Finnish soldiers were specifcally trained in riot control and were, therefore, a great asset for this portion of the course. They provided instruction in the chaotic and confusing environment, thereby demonstrating the value and strength that is possible with a United Na- tions mission. For professional law enforcement training, offcers and NCOs were grouped into teams of fve and the groups responded to traffc accidents, house robberies, and host nation complaints. These exercises allowed the stu- dents to learn a common standard and gain a basic under- standing of the international operational environment. The fnal week of the course included a culminating event— the 3-day Blue Beret Exercise—in which class members worked together to execute an initial deployment to a host nation and begin conducting United Nations military police missions. The students quickly established a military police company headquarters and two provost marshal offces. Patrols immediately began responding to traffc accidents, claims violations, and host nation police brutality reports. Meanwhile, the company headquarters was being with operation orders for protection details, luggage checks, and key leader meetings. The exercise scenario included a