Re: MPs

Friday, January 04, 2002, 2:34:25 AM, Thomas wrote:

TB> Someone very knowledgeable (someone's 
TB> wife?) was discoursing in a most interesting 
TB> fashion on MPs. I've known some MPs 
TB> (Canadian) and they did (sadly) remind me of 
TB> some of the worse examples of the Law 
TB> Enforcement breed. (I worked with the RCMP 
TB> extensively.... most of them get Orange or Red 
TB> chits!). 

I've never had any experience with Candadian MP's, British MP's
though, I have.  Not extensively, but I did notice that when a Brit MP
identified himself to a British ground-pounder, they took notice.
>From what I was told by one of those "blokes", MP isn't an MOS in the
british army, it's something that has to be earned.  In effect, MP's
for the brits are a "Special Forces" of sorts, even being considered
the "Queen's Own" as troops are selected out of the MP's for the
statue-like guards at the palace.

TB> Anyway, what I wanted someone to clarify for 
TB> me is: 
TB> What subtasks comprise the LEA (Law 
TB> Enforcement Activity) part of the job?
TB> What subtasks comprise the "Combat" part of 
TB> the job? 

LEA MP's are basically just being cops.  They go on patrol, they
arrest drunks, they run traffic stops.	There are even SWAT-like teams
formed, though the name used has differed depending on who organized
it... Q.uick R.eaction F.orce, S.pecial R.esponse T.eam, etc...

TB> I'm a bit vague on what combat MP postings 
TB> involve. I get the impression it includes traffic 
TB> direction during large troop movements, 
TB> securing rear areas and key points, hunting for 
TB> enemy deep penetration raiders, etc. 

Yup, you got it.  Escorting convoys of vehicles, directing traffic at
intersections (confirming that the trucks on it are ours that that
our people are driving them, if necessary).

TB> Would it be sensible in a future military to have 
TB> MP functions broken out into "Military Police" 
TB> (Combat MPs) and "Military Investigation and 
TB> Enforcement Personel" (LEA and CID types)?

It seems like it would be sensible.  Except the penny-pinchers and
whatnot wouldn't like it.  There is also something to be said for the
"Of the troops, for the Troops" unoffical motto of the MP's.  By
having a combat role, MP's gain credibility amongst other MOS's
instead of being "just cops".  While I was on patrol, I actually had a
222nd Infantry troops back down from a fight when he learned I was one
of the "MP's that go to the field" instead of the LEA MP's.  (My
first unit went through three cycles on a platoon level when not
deployed or otherwise
tasked out, two weeks each;  Training, Support, and Law Enforcement.

Training was exactly that: Practicing missions, some class-room, most
in the woods firing blanks and getting dirty.

Support:  You supported another platoon that was in it's training
cycle.

Law Enforcement:  You tried to polish your field-destroyed boots into
a spit-shine to look pretty on the road.

It didn't always work that well... deployments, taskings and missions
coming from division, etc. all got in the way.	We were extremely
proficient in that unit though.  We scared people when we trained and
never had serious injuries in spite of it.  When deployed, force
commanders would jostle and play their politics to get us to be the
MP's supporting them.  We were just that Good.	God, I miss those
days.  I'm getting misty-eyed...

To anyone in the 511th MP Company in Ft. Drum NY:  Fraggin' Hoo-ah!

But to my 2nd unit, the 212th MP Co in Germany:  Bite me!  It's your
fault I wasn't a lifer!

TB> Great stuff, really. I've now been given a 
TB> number of great scenario ideas for MPs versus 
TB> special forces in the rear areas, or prisoner 
TB> breakouts, or even the "Battle of the Bulge" 
TB> style enemy SF imitating MPs idea. 

Keep in mind that most of the roles and whatnot discussed so far are
the "all-out-war" roles.  In practice, during the humanitarian and
modern
limited conflict missions of late, MP's have some of the most visible
and high-profile roles.  In Somalia and Haiti, the infantry secured a
base out of which the MP's operated, doing the food-truck escorts or
reconning the operational areas.  That was something that really put
the sand in some infantry commander's shorts...

For a while, because the infantry were so "This is our mission." we
actually had our trucks parked on the perimeter of the airstrip at
Cape Hatien, Haiti while the infantry went on patrols and recons piled
into the back of a M-998 (think of a HMMWV (Hum-vee) laid out like a
pickup-truck). That lasted all of five days until a higher-up heard
about that stupidity, then we were back on the roads, doing our job.

TB> My thanks to those who contribute their domain 
TB> experience (or that of their spouses!). This list 
TB> never ceases to amaze me.

-- 
Best regards,
 Flak				
 Hive Fleet Jaegernaught
 http://www.geocites.com/flakmagnet72

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