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
34 MILITARY POLICE M ilitary police companies within the 92d Military Police Battalion rotate through four cycles annu- ally: red cycle (tasking), green cycle (combat train- ing), amber cycle (law enforcement train-up), and blue cycle (access control and law enforcement). The green cycle typi- cally focuses on mobility support operations or operational area security. However, this year, the green cycle brought unique challenges for the 988th Military Police Company. These challenges encompassed planning, constructing, se- curing, and operating a feld-expedient detainee holding area (DHA) large enough to support 80 detainees for a pe- riod of up to 14 days, with the additional ability to support up to 500 detainees if necessary. According to Field Manual (FM) 3-63, Detainee Operations, when conducting detainee operations, a military police company will attempt to fall in on existing structures, if possible. However, the intent of the green cycle was to prepare for a completely expeditionary environment with no existing hard structures available. Planning As the 988th Military Police Company was heading into its 2015 green cycle, the command team received the order to train on detainee operations in support of the company mission-essential task of Conduct Detention Operations. Us- ing the combined arms training strategies database of col- lective and individual tasks, the company commander and platoon leaders began a mission-essential task list cross- walk for detainee operations. Company leaders used the mission-essential task list crosswalk to identify the high- payoff tasks on which they would need to train within each platoon. According to FM 3-63, platoon leaders identifed team, squad, and platoon level tasks, which aided them in developing detailed training plans on which to certify by the end of the green cycle. As planning progressed and the timeline for the green cycle was developed, it became clear that time management emerged as one of the keys to success during the planning and preparation phases. The company conducted team certifcations during Week 5, squad certi- fcations during Week 6, and platoon certifcations during Weeks 8 and 9. Thus, the unit leaders needed to capitalize on every available minute of training time. Throughout the 988th Military Police Company planning phase, it became clear that the materials and assets organi- cally available to the company would not be enough to con- struct a DHA according to FM 3-63. The company executive offcer took on the task of resourcing. This consisted of ac- quiring hundreds of rolls of concertina wire, concertina wire stakes, barbed wire, tents, cots, blankets, pillows, halal meals, detainee uniforms, hand-washing stations, exami- nation gloves, evidence collection materials, and riot gear. With the philosophy of "nothing will be notional" in mind, the executive offcer enabled company success by allowing platoon leaders to focus on training with the knowledge that the necessary supplies would be available when the time came to construct the DHA. Company leaders also emphasized information manage- ment during the preparation phase. They focused on how to collect, organize, and access information about the detainees in the DHA in a feld environment according to FM 3-63. The platoon leaders developed a system to enable the Soldiers working in the DHA to effciently in-process each detainee, ensuring the completion of all necessary documentation in an organized manner. Soldiers used prefabricated trifold folders to create a packet for detainees as they arrived at the DHA in-processing facility. Each section of the folder con- tained a cover sheet detailing the forms required in each sec- tion. As each detainee progressed through the in-processing area, the Soldiers added the appropriate forms to the de- tainee's packet. There were numerous advantages to these packets: any missing documentation became obvious upon inspection, the system functioned smoothly no matter the skill level of the Soldiers on shift, and the organized packets facilitated easy access to information when needed. Team certifcations, conducted during Week 5 of the green cycle, set the foundation for the 988th Military Po- lice Company to successfully complete platoon certifcations. During team certifcations, platoon leaders certifed their teams on the approved individual and team level tasks that support the mission-essential task of Conduct Detainee Op- erations. In keeping with the Army's training philosophy of crawl-walk-run, team certifcations took place at a training area specifcally constructed for detainee operations, with all necessary infrastructure (secured holding areas, hard sites, fences, gates, latrines) already in place. This allowed the platoon leaders to focus their training on improving required tasks and processes without spending large amounts of time setting up and tearing down concertina wire and tents. Using individual stations and a round-robin methodol- ogy, team certifcations focused on individual and collective tasks that would serve as the building blocks of a success- ful integrated operation of a DHA. Tasks included receiving By Second Lieutenant Molly V. Buis