Fake towns, Soldier ‘actors’ play real role in military police training

Soldiers of the 175th Military Police Battalion and Iraqi Police, portrayed by fellow Soldiers, come under fire outside of a "mosque" in the fake Iraqi city of Al Nasariyah at Fort Leonard Wood. (Bill Phelan photo)

By Bill Phelan
Ngmo.pao@US.ARMY.MIL

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. - In what was part of incredibly realistic training for about 250 Missouri National Guardsmen, military police here responded to a rash of saloon break-ins, several domestic disputes, a bar fight, a sexual assault and a prison riot - all in five days.

Between July 29 and Aug. 3, Soldiers of the 175th Military Police Battalion, headquartered in Columbia, honed their law enforcement and warrior skills via the use of some unique facilities at Fort Leonard Wood and their own considerable acting talents.

Like their civil counterparts, military police officers are trained to respond to everything from traffic accidents to violent crimes. Some of that training takes place at mock towns constructed throughout the Fort, such as Al Nasariyah, an Iraqi village made from metal shipping containers. The village includes a mosque, a local police station - even cars on the streets. Another is Stemm Village, an urban setting complete with houses, a theater, strip mall, and saloon.

"Stemm Village provides us with a real-world training opportunity in that it has homes and businesses and a road network," explained Capt. James Tucker, of Kirksville, the battalion training officer. "It allows us to run operations just like an active duty military police unit - everything from directing traffic to domestic violence scenarios."

"We have to see how each of these Soldiers will respond to a given situation," added Spc. Derek Happel, of Imperial, a member of the 1175th Military Police Company, based in St. Clair, and a Ballwin police officer. "So we come up with a few things they haven't seen before. It's good experience."

An important distinction between military police and their civil counterparts is that MPs are also Soldiers. So while Stemm Village is designed as a mini military post for basic law enforcement and investigation training in a controlled environment, Al Nasariyah is primarily used for urban warfare training in a Middle Eastern setting. There, Soldiers come under fire before finding a cache of weapons. They also respond to a downed helicopter and train to work with local authorities and citizens.

So important is realism to the training that in addition to building whole towns for that purpose, many training scenarios include Soldiers portraying suspects, victims, enemy Soldiers and hostile mobs, complete with wardrobe. In one exercise, female officer cadet, Jaime Brinkley, of south St. Louis, portrays a 12-year-old girl who has been beaten by her stepfather played by another cadet. In another, Spc Renee Goeppner, of Vandalia, plays the victim of a sexual assault in the barracks.

"I believe the average citizen would be surprised at how realistic we try and make our training," said 1st Lt. Adam Vonallmen, of Doniphan, from the 1137th Military Police Company, based in Kennett. "If it happens in the civilian world, it happens in the military world as well."
At the Al Nasariyah site, Soldiers portraying Iraqi citizens interfere with U.S. Troops while others playing the part of Iraqi police deliberately display poor discipline when working with them.

"What we are looking for is a better training experience for each Soldier," said Staff Sgt. Jeff Knelange, of St. Louis County, an Iraq Veteran with the 1175th. "So we're going to deal with how to treat the Iraqi Police from the chief on down. That's why we leave the Soldiers in the dark. They have no idea how the scenario will play out."

"It is a necessary part of realistic training," added 2nd Lt. Jonathan Klusmeyer, of Warrensburg, an officer with the 1139th Military Police Company, based in Harrisonville, who portrayed an Iraqi police chief. "Some of the Iraqi Police have poor weapons discipline and can be easily distracted. If these Soldiers go (to Iraq) they have to know what to expect."

Another aspect of military policing is internment and resettlement, something Guardsmen rarely get a chance to practice. At a mock detention facility simply known as Training Area 310, Soldiers face a scenario in which they must take over an abandoned Iraqi prison, process newly arriving inmates and put down a riot. Again fellow Soldiers portray the prisoners and do their best to be unruly.

"In this scenario Iraqi police show up with a high value (detainee) and discover there is no one here," said Tucker. "So our Soldiers receive an order to occupy the prison and establish a transfer of prisoners and a transfer of intelligence. Later there will be a disturbance where the Soldiers will develop their crowd control and attention procedures."

In addition to adapting to each changing scenario Soldiers also battled intense heat with temperatures hovering between 105 and 108 degrees throughout the training period.

Soldiers from the 1140th Military Police Company, headquartered in Mexico; the 3175th Chemical Company, based in St. Louis County; the 1138th MP Company, of West Plains; the 2175th MP Company, based in Hannibal; and the 3175th MP Company, of Warrenton, also participated in the training.

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