Montana MP Unit Trains with U.S. Army Garrison Italy
More than 40 Soldiers from Montana’s 143rd Military Police (MP) Detachment had a unique annual training (AT) experience last August when they traveled to the Veneto and Tuscany regions of Italy to train alongside active duty Soldiers with U.S. Army Europe.
Spending close to three weeks in Vicenza and Camp Darby, located near the famous city of Pisa—home of the Leaning Tower of Pisa—Soldiers worked directly with members of the 529th MP Company, a U.S. Army Europe unit based in Wiesbaden, Germany, and Vicenza, Italy.
“Our mission was to go and support the 529th Military Police Company and help them with law enforcement functions,” explained CPT Jon Poe of the 143rd MP Detachment. “[The 529th] went on basic patrol with their shifts and we integrated with them and took calls. The objective was for my Soldiers to get real-world experience and more exposure to law enforcement activities.”
The Soldiers of the 143rd were divided amongst two locations in Italy, each location providing a different, but beneficial training experience. Two squads worked side-by-side with Soldiers from the 529th MP running actual missions on Caserma Carlo Ederle, the Italian military complex in Vicenza where U.S. Army Garrison Italy is based. Two other squads participated in scenario-based training at Camp Darby, also with units from the 529th.
The Soldiers who worked alongside the 529th in the field assisted in responding to multiple calls, including basic alarm calls, traffic accidents and thefts.
“I worked as a desk sergeant and patrol supervisor,” said SSG Effie Orser of the 143rd. “The whole thing was such a good experience. My favorite part was being able to go do an actual mission for our AT. I felt like we were actually accomplishing something where we were helping [people] instead of doing scenario training.”
For SPC Tre McMillan of the 143rd MP Detachment, the training in Italy served as his first hands-on experience with MP work.
“I got to work with the traffic guys down there writing tickets and monitoring traffic around posts,” said SPC McMillan. “I also got to sit in on sworn statements and I had the chance to sit at the desk and see how the desk worked during certain situations. It was my first real-life experience with it.”
The scenario-based training in which the Soldiers in Vicenza participated incorporated various aspects of potential MP situations. Soldiers took part in multiple scenarios focused on room clearings, active shooter training, domestic violence scenarios, high-risk traffic stops and traffic accidents. They also trained on communication and interview skills, as well as physical fitness.
The active shooter training was a highlight for SGT Bret Haux of the 143rd due to the realism of the scenarios.
“I really enjoyed the active shooter portion because we were clearing buildings we’ve never seen before so that was super realistic,” he explained.
SGT Haux went on to note that in addition to learning techniques from the 529th, the Guard Soldiers were also able to share some Guard best practices with their active duty counterparts.
“Alongside active duty, it was awesome to see how they did things and they got to see how we did things,” said SGT Haux. “That was a cool experience to see both sides of the fence on those scenarios.”
Though the 143rd Soldiers mixed well with members of the 529th, it was at times a challenge to adjust to different operating procedures in a condensed amount of time.
“The most challenging aspect of it I think was probably integrating yourself into that new environment in that short of period and being able to learn everything quickly while you’re there, but all of our Soldiers transitioned very well,” said SFC Ryan Baldry, detachment sergeant for the 143rd.
“Trying to work with a group of people that we didn’t know and going to a place where we didn’t know what their SOPs [standard operating procedures] were and how they basically run their operations there was challenging,” SSG Orser explained. “It’s always a little challenging trying to meld in with the way they do things and making sure our work is conducive.”
In addition to getting to know the Soldiers of the 529th, the training proved to be an opportunity for Soldiers of the 143rd to get to know each other better and bond as a unit.
“I learned a lot about how the National Guard and active duty think and do things differently,” SGT Haux explained. “I also learned a lot about my unit. It was a good time getting to know everyone really well [and being able to] feed off how each other works in an actual real-world training environment.”
Whether Soldiers were in the field or participating in the training scenarios, every Soldier walked away with beneficial training and unforgettable experiences.
“[The best] part was hearing the Soldiers come back from the streets talking about the different calls they responded to and the experiences that they were getting,” CPT Poe said. “They got a lot of real-world experience and it was an eye opener to hear their stories about what they got to do.”
The 143rd’s 2018 AT served as an opportunity for the Soldiers to put their past training to use in a new and challenging environment. Newer Soldiers, for the first time, had the opportunity to take their lessons from drill weekends and apply them to real situations. SFC Baldry noted how that practical application will yield tenfold for the Soldiers in the future.
“It shows Soldiers what’s expected of them in a real-life mission when they’re called to serve overseas, whether it be a deployment or just for an annual training like this,” he explained. “It lays out the expectations and the training requirements that are needed to get them from point A to point B and complete the mission.”
SGT Haux echoed this sentiment when he commented on the importance of this type of real-life training, which places Soldiers in a unique environment requiring them to work each day with experienced Soldiers to get the job done.
“From the National Guard side, I think it’s important to go to a real-world activity post and actually do the job,” SGT Haux said. “It’s an amazing opportunity to learn a lot in a short amount of time with people that [perform the tasks] every single day.”
Perhaps as important as the hands-on training and building up of practical skills is the encouragement a unique training experience can bring to Soldiers, both enlisted and officers alike.
“I absolutely think [this training] was important,” said SSG Orser. “I think it’s great for morale and great for retention. It gives the Soldiers an opportunity to see what active duty military does and it’s an opportunity to travel and go to places like Italy. That’s a huge morale booster for units.”
“[Newer] Soldiers got to learn how to better do their job,” said SFC Adam Olsen of the 143rd. “They got to do what they would do if they were deployed and experience it all start to finish. And those of us as leaders, we got to experience mentoring the Soldiers, and being with them through their learning phase. It was nice to go through that and to experience it together as a unit – that was a huge takeaway.”
The overseas AT also served as an opportunity for the unit’s leadership to observe their Soldiers in the field and, based on that observation, determine ways to better train the unit in the future.
“There was a lot of feedback on just going back to the basics,” CPT Poe explained. “Sometimes when we train at home, we tend to kind of get ahead of ourselves and try to force a lot of stuff into our training program. A lot of Soldiers said it was nice just getting back to the basics about how to do basic report writing and basic investigations because they found when they actually started doing these real-world investigations, there were a couple things that they just weren’t quite sure about or comfortable with. It really helped us look at our training and adjust towards that.”
The Soldiers of the 143rd are certain to have plenty of opportunity to put the experience they gained during their training in Italy to good use back home in Montana and elsewhere when deployed again.
“No matter where it is, anytime we as a whole unit get to go and demonstrate our capabilities, and then learn from anyone else that’s doing the job on a day-to-day basis, it builds a tremendous training database for us to pull from for future training events,” SFC Olsen said. “It’s great overall, for leaders and the Soldiers themselves, and the location and the sightseeing of course – it all just adds so much. You can ask any of the Soldiers at any time, ‘Hey, would you want to go to Italy for your AT?’ and they would say yes. It was a great experience.”
By Staff Writer Tatyana White-Jenkins
Montana Army National Guard photos by CPT Mat Poe
