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
10
Military police companies supported BCTs for CTC ro-
tations to gain operational experience and demonstrate
military police capabilities in decisive-action environments.
Training management cycles were synchronized between
military police companies and their BCT counterparts to
support their home station training needs and Army force
generation requirements.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Short, Com-
mander, 91st Engineer Battalion, 1st Armor BCT, 1st
Cavalry Division, "Having a military police company [64th
Military Police Company, 720th Military Police Battalion,
89th Military Police Brigade] provides the BCT the capabili-
ties needed to perform a full mission set. With no organic
military police, the BCT would struggle to execute detainee
operations, noncombatant evacuation operations, and weap-
ons of mass destruction elimination operations."
Combat Readiness
Focusing on habitual relationships enhanced the com-
bat readiness level of military police companies within
the III Corps footprint. Units within the brigade took a
back-to-basics approach and focused on shoot, move, commu-
nicate, and protect fundamentals. Military police companies
fostered a high state of readiness coupled with an expedi-
tionary mindset through aggressive emergency deployment
readiness exercise programs, organizational inspection pro-
grams, and external evaluations.
The 89th, in coordination with U.S. Army Forces Com-
mand, plans to send military police companies in a DS role
to each III Corps BCT for operational deployments.
3
This
will provide military police units the opportunity to conduct
traditional military police disciplines (security and mobility
support operations, detention operations, police operations)
outside the continental United States.
Establishing habitual relations within III Corps has
helped forge the future by defning the military police role in
support of maneuver commanders. The 89th, in coordination
with U.S. Army Central Command planners, is developing
a request for the forces process to trigger the deployment of
a military police company in support of its habitual aligned
BCT.
4
Military police and other enabler augmentations are
needed if the BCT is to provide full warfghting function
capability while conducting operations. The habitual rela-
tionship concept will increase the demand for military po-
lice conducting protection warfghting function tasks during
a steady state and shaping operations in support of BCTs.
Military police companies supporting BCTs will potentially
partner with host nation police forces to support security co-
operation activities, build capabilities, and help profession-
alize their forces.
The III Corps deputy commanding general, Major Gen-
eral John Uberti, received a semiannual training briefng
from the 89th Military Police Brigade leaders. The brief-
ing highlighted the concept of habitual relationships and
military police support to III Corps. Major General Uberti
validated the concept, and he believes that the initiative will
eventually spread throughout the Army as a proven concept
and best practice for military police support to maneuver
commanders.
"I will gladly take a military police company with me. I
have missions where I can absolutely use their skill sets, but
it has to be the unit we trained with at Fort Carson [Colora-
do] and took to the National Training Center," said Colonel
Gregory Sierra, Commander, 3d Armor BCT, 4th Infantry
Division.
Conclusion
The 89th Military Police Brigade established habitual re-
lationships with BCTs to support the current fght, protect
the force through combat readiness, and help forge the fu-
ture of military police forces within III Corps. Establishing
habitual relationships is strategically important to the Mili-
tary Police Corps to maintain relevance and force structure
within a resource-constrained Army.
Endnotes:
1
Operation Order PW 15-03-0280, 89th Military Police Bri-
gade Habitual Relationships, 27 March 2015.
2
Ibid.
3
Field Manual 3-39, Military Police Operations, 26 August
2013.
4
Gregory L. Cantwell, et al., Regionally Aligned Forces:
Concept Viability and , U.S. Army
War College Press, March 2015, p. 39,