Photo By Capt. Patrick Cook | Soldiers of the 720th Military Police Battalion employ nonlethal 12 gauge shotgun...... read more read more
FORT HOOD, TEXAS – Leaders of the 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade took advantage of the Interservice Non-lethal Individual Weapons Instructor Course (INIWIC), an intensive train-the-trainer course that allows them to instruct and certify their Soldiers on an array of non-lethal techniques and weapons.
Among the arsenal of new capabilities the MP Soldiers acquired over this nine-day course were police interpersonal communication skills, two days of hand-to-hand subject control techniques, to include baton takedowns, civil disturbance response, and employment of riot control equipment, as well as various vehicle-arresting devices and munitions, including nonlethal 40mm grenades, 12-gauge shotgun shells and Claymore mines.
“I’ve wanted this training for a long time,” said Sgt. 1st Class Dale Mckee of the 89th Military Police Brigade S3. “Nonlethal weapon capabilities are extremely important because they bridge the gap between physical force and deadly force. It also provides commanders with additional options.”
The participants were also instructed in the legalities of employing nonlethal capabilities, as well as standard rules of force. The students learned that nonlethal weapons are not an alternative to lethal force, but rather serve to provide a broader degree of flexibility to a unit’s mission.
“Nonlethal force is not an absence of deadly force,” continued Mckee. “If a perpetrator presents potentially lethal force – a knife, for instance – depending on the person’s body language, you might not necessarily have to use lethal force to neutralize the threat.”
"This was a great training opportunity,” remarked Sgt. 1st Class Marcos Perez of the 401st MP Company. “It was very physically and mentally challenging."
By the end of the course, all participants had been subjected to oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray contamination and electro-muscular incapacitation with the Taser, and had been required to demonstrate proficiency in the use of each.
In addition to the intensely physical, five-station culminating event outside the Directorate of Emergency Services, the Soldiers were also required to pass five written exams, two graded practical exercises and four physical and instruction-based “teach-backs” to the cadre.
“It was very good training,” said Staff Sgt. Angel Rosario of HHD, 720th Military Police Battalion. “I acquired a lot of knowledge about tools and resources associated with non-lethal weapons.”
The nine-day course ended Sept. 4, certifying 38 officers, NCOs and Department of the Army civilian police.
| Date Taken: | 09.10.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 09.10.2014 16:34 |
| Story ID: | 141701 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 287 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Griffin Soldiers expand their use of force capabilities at INIWIC, by CPT Patrick Cook, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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