Military Police

FALL 2015

Military Police contains information about military police functions in maneuver and mobility support, area security, law and order, internment/resettlement, and police intelligence operations.

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6 exhorts would-be terrorists, stating that "Secrecy should be followed when planning and executing any attack." 4 In re- sponse, RAF attempts to prevent a successful terrorist at- tack should emphasize— • Creating awareness throughout the community of the or- ganization. • Adapting practical operational protective measures based on methods previously used by terrorists. • Establishing links with organizations that re- side within the region. These areas of empha- sis should be fundamen- tal to any organizational planning that takes place today, just as they have been in the past. The creation of antiterrorism awareness involves more than imparting a knowledge of the terrain and culture of an assigned area. It includes a collective consciousness of the threats and unit and individual protective measures. Department of Defense (DOD) and Army policies re- quire annual individual Level I Antiterrorism Awareness Training and trained antiterrorism offcers (ATOs) at all battalion-size units and larger. In addition, this base level of training must be supplemented by AOR-specifc training that is aimed at supportive protective measures to be ap- plied immediately upon preparation for deployment. DOD and Army policies further dictate that all Army personnel permanently or temporarily assigned to, transiting through, or performing exercises or training in a geographic combat- ant command AOR outside the continental United States receive AOR-specifc antiterrorism awareness training. The training must be even more focused under the RAF concept. And the additional time that RAF units have to study and coordinate should inevitably lead to a greater inculcation of understanding among individuals and safer and more effec- tive entry into a region. RAF units must track AOR-specifc antiterrorism train- ing for individuals. A link with the appropriate Army service component command (ASCC) is critical in formulating the training required to prepare each Soldier and civilian. Indi- viduals play an important role in the detection of prospec- tive terrorists in any environment. In addition to training for individual protection, targeted AOR training builds the awareness necessary for Soldiers and civilians to support unit collection efforts. A knowledge of the most likely region for employment allows units to prepare holistic antiterror- ism systems. Individuals, through threat-oriented training, become an integral part of the unit protection system. Terrorists rarely telegraph their method of attack. There- fore, much antiterrorism planning involves building protec- tive measures against a variety of possibilities. The number of possibilities can be refned based on historical records of the region, a study of terrorist groups operating in the area, and the mindful application of measures designed to locate prospective terrorists before they strike. And, once employed, units should have a set of random antiterrorism measures ready to be initiated to ensure that prospective terrorists are not able to establish their own attack planning based on fxed protective measures. Regardless of the RAF mission, protective measures must become an integral part of the planning. Successful preparation requires a close link between the RAF unit(s) and the ASCC in the AOR. The ASCC knows the AOR to which the RAF unit(s) will deploy—and the AOR provides a wide variety of employment possibilities. The various subregions and countries within an AOR frequently exhibit remarkable differ- ences in infrastructure, friendly support, and terrorist threats, which provide the ba- sis for planning. ASCC can help narrow the possibilities and provide focus for antiterrorism-related information collec- tion and training. Close links between RAF units and ASCC ATOs can help guide antiterrorism training and awareness expectations, develop supporting intelligence requirements, and partner in assessing the antiterrorism-related readi- ness of RAF elements at all levels. Initial on-site visits between RAF antiterrorism person- nel and ASCC to establish productive working relationships that can be continued virtually should be considered. As Lieutenant Colonel Jay Morse, with the International and Operational Law Department, Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School, put it, "RAF success depends on 'person to person' engagements." 5 Clearly, there is no sub- stitute for face-to-face coordination at the beginning stages of RAF assignments. The physical meeting can then sup- port an enduring synchronization based on established understanding and trust. ASCCs often use well-developed information-sharing schemes including Web sites or portals that can be linked with RAFs. RAF units and ASCC should also coordinate through antiterrorism working groups and senior-level antiterrorism executive committees as a routine part of all antiterrorism programs. Unit ATOs provide the expertise necessary to integrate antiterrorism considerations into operational planning. This is particularly true in RAFs. ASCCs maintain AOR- specifc training blocks designed for ATOs who are antici- pating assignment in the AOR. Regardless of the size of the deploying unit—from company to corps level—RAFs must coordinate with the ASCC for the necessary training. This ensures that the critical antiterrorism element is appropri- ately represented in operational planning. The unit depends on a trained and certifed antiterrorism expert to integrate necessary terrorist-related aspects into RAF preparations for deployment. Just as every member of the unit must un- derstand the culture and the threats associated with the re- gion of anticipated employment, the ATO must understand how to collect critical information related to the possibility "The creation of antiterrorism awareness involves more than imparting a knowledge of the terrain and culture of an assigned area. It includes a collective consciousness of the threats and unit and individual pro- tective measures." MILITARY POLICE

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