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/383260
MILITARY POLICE . 19-14-2 11 and First Lieutenant I n February 2014, the 25th Infantry Division, Schofeld Barracks, Hawaii, selected the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment (1-21 Infantry) of the 2d Stryker Brigade Combat Team to deploy to Thailand for a training exercise. The 1-21 Infantry participated as Task Force Gimlets in Exercise Cobra Gold 2014—an annual joint training exercise involving the militaries of the United States, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, and Malaysia. A brigade provost marshal and a military police platoon leader were assigned as force protection offcers, primarily responsible for the force protection of Task Force Gimlets throughout deployment and training. Task Force Gimlets conducted joint, live-fre training and exercises; jungle survival training; military operations on urban terrain; and counter improvised explosive device operations alongside the Royal Thai Army (RTA). The scope of duties for the force protection cell ranged greatly, from conducting security assessments of barracks and a Bangkok hotel to assisting with a joint, live-fre exercise. The force protection cell provided the task force commander with continuous updates regarding the threat situation and proactively implemented a system of security checks and routine force protection measures at several sites. Through regular force protection briefs, we trained Soldiers on techniques that can be used to mitigate risks associated with terrorists, criminals, health threats, and cyberspace vulnerabilities to ensure maximum training effectiveness for more than 300 personnel in Thailand. Deployment and Staging Task Force Gimlets traveled more than 6,500 miles, making layover stops in allied nation airports before arriving in Phitsanulok, Thailand. The movement included more than 300 personnel, along with weapon systems, medical supplies, mobile kitchen trailers, feld sanitation equipment, and mission command essentials necessary for the operation and sustainment of a month-long exercise. The force protection cell identifed hazards along the way and made recommendations to the command team. Upon our arrival at the initial staging area of Camp Baromtriloknat (commonly known as Camp B), we conducted security assessments of billeting facilities, dining facilities, latrines and showers, classrooms, and recreation areas and identifed possible threats and safe-haven locations. Based on these assessments, contingency plans addressing a wide range of threats (basic criminals, active shooters, improvised explosive devices, live fre) were developed; these plans established designated rally points and conveyed evacuation plans. As the force protection authorities, we also consulted with the command team, the intelligence (S-2) offce, and medical personnel (the battalion medical offcer, a physician's assistant, and a preventive medicine offcer) and, subsequently, built a comprehensive team prepared for the possibilities of multiple threats and scenarios. Although counterintelligence teams considered the overall threat of terrorism for Thailand to be high, they considered the threat of terrorism for our specifc area of operations to be medium to low. With criminal, operations security, and cyberspace aspects included, vulnerabilities were much higher, which is a constant concern for a command team involved in such a high-visibility operation. RTA military police had primary responsibility for providing armed guards for the training sites and convoy movements between the training sites and the airport, located 3–4 hours apart. They provided access control for Camp B, which served as the location of the task force tactical operations center, and for the feld training site at Ban Dan Lan Hoi, which included the ammunition supply point where small arms and explosive munitions were stored during the exercise. The force protection cell met with our RTA military police counterparts several times throughout Exercise Cobra Gold. In addition, we conducted regular visits to the access control points. By maintaining a dialog with our RTA military police counterparts, we ensured that the sites remained secure through the maximization of additional resources to enforce proper force protection condition standards. We also helped build a great partnership in support of the overall goals of the exercise. Due to a 3-hour separation between the locations of Camp B and Ban Dan Lan Hoi, a strong military police presence and