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/655275
MILITARY POLICE 42 operation (such as protection) are often not considered until after a course of action has been approved; therefore, it is unlikely that the courses of action have been evaluated ac- curately or that they contain the correct planning variables, which can include restrictions ranging from national caveats (when working with allied or partnered nations) to rules of engagement that pre- vent the use of estab- lished standard oper- ating procedures. A common rea- son protection is of- ten omitted from the planning process is that planners have a natural tendency to want more time to create "their" plan— and protection, as a warfghting function, is made up of maneu- ver mobility support elements (military police, chemical, en- gineer). This leads to a limited overall mis- sion plan and an in- creased likelihood that available forces, including military police, will not be organized to meet all likely contingencies. The disadvantage of ignoring the principles of mission com- mand is that approved courses of action pose signifcantly more risk than what is communicated to the brigade com- mander (see Figure 1). Variables that are overlooked ulti- mately cause staff sections and subordinate units to conduct additional analyses and planning to mitigate gaps that may lead to unnecessary operational risks. PMs must develop a shared understanding throughout the brigade staff on the integration and use of military police forces before a mission, combat training center rotation, or deployment. When operating in a multinational environment, the capabilities and limitations of allies and partners must be clear. Areas to be considered include effects of multinational procedures, equipment, and national caveats. The most im- portant (and the hardest to plan for) are national caveats. National caveats are restrictions that are placed by a nation on its forces with regard to operating within the North At- lantic Treaty Organization or with coalition nations. These restrictions encompass the types of munitions that can be employed, the capacities in which Soldiers can be used, the areas in which Soldiers can operate, and the handling of civilians and captured persons. For example, a national caveat may restrict an allied country from conducting deten- tion operations. To limit the effects on operations, the PM needs to identify the national cave- ats for each multi- national military police force and de- termine the effects that the caveats would have on the mission to ensure that constraints are considered dur- ing the MDMP. It is also impor- tant to know the standard operating procedures for al- lies and partners. Many of the mul- tinational military police forces with whom we currently operate have differ- ing opinions about what is considered to be the appropri- ate amount of force and treatment that should be ap- plied to captured persons. It is the commander's responsibility to enforce mission and national rules of engagement, regardless of the home country of the Soldier. To assist the brigade commander in maintaining the rules of engagement throughout the formation, the PM needs to consider the historic lessons and tendencies of mul- tinational elements before recommending task organization adjustments for military police operations. This incorporates risk mitigation into task organization and ensures that as- signed mission sets are ftting for the culture and military mindset of each multinational unit. Success and Excellence Successful PMs have synchronized their lines of effort with the rest of the staff by injecting themselves into plan- ning meetings, briefngs, and working groups. These PMs have established standard operating procedures that are understood throughout the staff, and they have been active participants in the MDMP, enabling them to help operations personnel incorporate protection into brigade orders. These PMs also understand that, although they work closely with operations staff, they actually work for the executive offce. If they have coordination issues (whether in garrison, in a combat training center rotation, or in a deployed environ- ment), the executive offcer has the ability to connect the PM with the rest of the staff. Figure 1. Mission command warfghting function tasks from Army Doctrine Reference Publication 6-0. Staff support Commander's lead Primary Commander Tasks Primary Staff Tasks Additional Tasks • Conduct military deception • Conduct civil affairs operations • Install, operate, and maintain the network • Conduct airspace control • Conduct information protection (Continued on page 44) • Drive the operations process • Develop teams • Inform and infuence audiences • Conduct the operations process • Conduct knowledge management and information management • Synchronize information-related capabilities • Conduct cyber electromagnetic activities