Thousands training for MP duty
By Connie Farrow
Associated Press
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — Spc. Jason Vazquez is a National Guard artillery soldier, but he hopes someday to become a Chicago police officer.
Now, with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan depleting the Army's force of military policemen, Vazquez is getting the kind of on-the-job training that will speed his way toward that goal.
The nature of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan has left the Army's military police units stretch thin. To compensate, 18 National Guard companies are being converted to MP units.
Vazquez, 19, is among some 2,230 Guard soldiers being retrained at Fort Leonard Wood in central Missouri as temporary military police to replenish an Army force stretched to its limits by the war on terrorism.
"I'm very excited about the experience we're going to get," Vazquez said. "I have an uncle who is a Chicago police officer. I'd like to do the same one day."
The National Guard Bureau announced plans last fall to convert 18 Army Guard companies that were least likely to be deployed into much-needed MPs. Each company has about 124 soldiers.
They are to provide security at installations in the United States and Germany, while the Army's active and reserve police corps are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"This shows that the Guard is relevant, viable and adaptable to a changing environment," said Col. Frank Grass, chief operations officer for the Army National Guard. "It fits right in with what we've always done as a National Guard."
The new MPs are being created from 14 field artillery units, three combat support units and one transportation unit. All will undergo a four-week course at Fort Leonard Wood, home of the U.S. Army Military Police School.
Army Reservists from Nashville, Tenn., are teaching them how to investigate a rape, bust a drug ring, recover evidence and work with local law enforcement.
Staff Sgt. Will Ross, who serves with the 2nd Battalion, 115th Field Artillery in Bolivar, Tenn., acknowledged being surprised when told of his new mission. Now he is adding law enforcement to his list of civilian career possibilities.
"A lot of the stuff we're learning is new to us, but we're all really motivated," he said.
The Army has gone to great lengths to make training realistic and fun. Among other things, soldiers get to perform drills in a mock village at the post.
It includes a house with drug peddlers. It has a bar with brawling patrons, as well as a duplex with quarreling couples. There is also a jewelry store, bait shop and shoe store, all ripe with robbers.
"We do a lot of role playing, and they have to interact with individuals in a variety of situations," said Maj. Rob Stine, who supervises training. "The idea is to make it realistic so they gain general law enforcement skills."
The 128th Field Artillery unit from Missouri was among the first group to receive a new job classification. The artillerymen-turned-military police graduated Dec. 19 and are now serving at Fort Polk, La.
While being an MP requires a different set of skills from those of artillery units, the training runs smoothly because the students are seasoned soldiers, said Lt. Col. Henry R. Evans, commander of the Army Reserve unit conducting the training. He estimates more than 90 percent, about the same as Army recruits, pass training on their first try.
The stopgap effort is stretching the Military Police School, which graduated about 12,950 recruits last year. The National Guard expects to train 1,240 soldiers by April, with another 990 qualified for duty by February 2005.
