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
49 Spring 2016 By First Lieutenant John A. Perdigao I n January 2015, the 709th Military Police Battalion, Grafenwoehr, Germany, began hosting overseas deploy- ment training (ODT) rotations. These rotations involve transporting Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers to locations outside of the continental United States to perform missions associated with their occupational spe- cialties, thereby affording them valuable work experience. With current fscal constraints and never-ending time con- straints, the ODT rotations provide valuable training for the ODT unit and the host unit. Current professional law enforcement (PLE) commit- ments in Germany, combined with taskings and other oper- ational requirements, signifcantly limit the collective train- ing of each of the fve companies within the 709th Military Police Battalion. Circumstances vary by company; but on average, only one squad can train at a time—and to do so, the company must implement 12-hour shifts to reduce the PLE commitment. Each ODT rotation facilitates 14 uninter- rupted days for a platoon to train on high-payoff collective tasks during a protected green cycle and affords the ODT unit an opportunity to "regreen" its law enforcement skills. Since these ODT rotations are the frst in recent 709th Mili- tary Police Battalion history, a great deal of planning and resourcing was required to ensure mission success. There have been many lessons learned throughout the ODT pro- cess—several of which can be leveraged by other military police organizations that need creative means to carve out time to hone their critical warfghting skills. Lesson 1 The 709th Military Police Battalion compiled a robust op- erations order, providing guidance to all participating units. The operations order covers the requirements for working as a military police offcer overseas, including the need for PLE certifcation, computer access, a U.S. Army Europe vehicle license, a knowledge of the concept of integration, and other host unit requirements. This comprehensive revision and clarifcation of training requirements provides clear purpose and direction for all participating units. A researched and thorough order serves as the starting point for defning ex- pectations for an ODT rotation. Lesson 2 With very disparate organizations and an ocean in be- tween, consistent communication is critical in facilitating the ODT rotations. The 709th Military Police Battalion achieves this consistency by appointing one primary point of contact for the battalion and each host unit and hosting monthly inprocess reviews via Defense Connect Online. In contrast to a video teleconference (with restricted bandwidth), Defense Connect Online can be accessed by anyone on any network and can accommodate hundreds of participants. The Defense Connect Online inprocess reviews cover the status of actions required by the ODT unit, the host unit, and other support- ing agencies; clarify training requirements and requests for information; and once the rotations begins, lessons learned that are shared to facilitate a common understanding and limit future issues. The use of single points of contact for the battalion and the host units enables the streamlining of information, which allows issues to be remedied faster since they are not being relayed through multiple echelons of bu- reaucracy or translated to all subsequent rotations. It also enables the establishment of a rapport among the operators before the rotations even begins. Lesson 3 The total length of the ODT rotation is 21 days from de- parture to return. Once the unit is received and integrat- ed and has completed on-the-job training, that equates to 14 days of training, which means that some PLE certifca- tion requirements need to be reduced. As mentioned, the ro- bust operations order covers training; however, many hours were spent identifying PLE certifcation requirements for which the battalion and the directorate of emergency ser- vices were comfortable assuming risk. Representatives of the 709th Military Police Battalion; the 18th Military Police Brigade; the Offce of the Provost Marshal, U.S. Army Eu- rope; and the Installation Management Command Europe (which was to obtain buy-in from the directorate of emer- gency services community) formulated an expedited PLE certifcation plan. According to the plan, ODT units are to conduct most of their basic military police skill training in the continental United States, while their highly resourced training requirements (M9 pistol qualifcations, emergency