Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Tony Lindback | Army 1st Lt. Roberts is a platoon leader for the 366th MP Co. out of Stillwater, Okla....... read more read more
FORT SILL, Okla. – Law enforcement officers, both military and civilian, must be proficient in a variety of combat and peacekeeping skills. The military police officer training, though with more of a combat oriented mission, goes hand–in-hand with the civilian officer training.
“It was something I wanted to do for a long time,” said Roberts about joining the Army. “I thought it could help me improve my leadership, my discipline, and just me overall.”
Roberts went through basic training and Officer Candidate School starting June 2011, and immediately went through the Military Police Basic Officer Leadership Course.
Within six months of graduating MP BOLC, Roberts was deployed to Iraq. During deployment, Roberts said, he took a promotional test for sergeant in the Tulsa Police Department.
“I used a lot of my military education and experience I got from the schools I went to,” said Roberts. “It assisted me in my promotion.”
Roberts claimed both military and civilian police training has been mutually beneficial in furthering his career in both fields.
Pfc. Brian Morris, an MP with the 366th MP Company and a police officer with the Nassau Bay Police Department in Texas, says he also sees the benefits of the coinciding careers.
“It has been an excellent tool having this tactical background from the military when you’re trying to take someone into custody,” Morris said.
Combat training is not the only things he takes back to his civilian police job, Morris said.
“When you go to some of these calls and you realize that these people are going through the most troubling time of their whole life, my military training has really helped with the way that I approach and talk to them,” said Morris about the Equal Opportunity and Sexual Harassment Assault Response and Prevention classes he has taken while in the Army.
Another class, First Aid, has proven valuable to Morris. He won a Life Saving Award from his police department in May 2013 for saving the life of a woman in diabetic shock.
Roberts’ own police force has also put military practices into action.
“Our police department is slowly getting into combat lifesaver and keeping a kit for yourself,” Roberts said. “A lot of other military and prior military that work in the police department carry tourniquets and lifesaving equipment.”
In the Nassau Bay Police Department, Morris has taken another key skill from the military and implemented it into his police work.
“Command presence is essential,” Morris said. “If you look like you mean business, you mean business.”
Roberts has taken that command presence and implemented it into leadership as both a sergeant in the Tulsa Police Department and a platoon leader in the 366th.
“Leadership is paramount,” said Roberts. “I’m not going to ask anybody to do anything I’m not willing to do.”
Roberts believes leading by example is the best leadership technique and implements this with his own soldiers and officers.
“As a police sergeant I’m not tasked with answering calls, I’m mostly there to supervise my officers,” Roberts said. “But, to show them I’m out there to assist them, I’ll take calls and reports – especially when we’re busy – to show them I’m right there with them.”
Being a civilian and a military police officer means Roberts has been able to use his experience to better both sides.
“I take the best that I can from both sides and try to make myself improve from both of them,” said Roberts.
“I get a lot of similar classes but I’m able to get them from two different perspectives,” said Sgt. Christopher Wescott, military police officer for the 366th MP Company, 2nd Platoon, and fellow officer in the Tulsa Police Department. “It enhances what I can bring to the table.”
As one of Roberts’ soldiers, Wescott has received firsthand knowledge of Roberts’ leadership ability.
“Lieutenant Roberts is a thinker,” said Wescott. “He thinks before he acts. He also welcomes input from other people. He’s not only a good leader and decisive, but also approachable.”
Roberts hopes the dedication and motivation he displays is one day instilled into his younger soldiers. With that in mind, he continues to uphold the tradition of high standards the Army has for its leaders.
| Date Taken: | 06.27.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 07.25.2013 12:42 |
| Story ID: | 110812 |
| Location: | FORT SILL, OK, US |
| Web Views: | 227 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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