Photo By Sgt. Maj. Michael Pintagro | Pfc. Taylor Pridgen, a military policeman with the 202nd Military Police Company and...... read more read more
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MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU, Romania - The driver immediately realized this trip to MK Air Base was anything but routine. The firm demeanor of the guards, increased presence of security personnel and stringent screening measures suggested enhanced scrutiny for those conducting legitimate business and a very brief stay for any unauthorized visitors. The vehicle cleared the check point, but only after rigorous screening confirmed the identity of its driver, the safety of its cargo and the validity of its mission.
The enhanced scrutiny resulted not from a hot tip or suspicious behavior, but a planned test of base defenses.
The force protection exercise, conducted Oct. 16-17 as part of a theater-wide effort to maximize safety and security at U.S. and combined bases, integrated responses from American Soldiers, Marines and Airmen, along with civilian personnel and Romanian partners.
According to event organizers, the exercise aimed to test responsiveness and identify ways to improve base security.
“The exercise was designed to help the commander on the ground identify any gaps in our force protection measures,” said Sgt. 1st Class Jean Jacquet, the MK anti-terrorism officer, lead event planner and a Miami native. “This provided a snapshot. It will definitely help us assess the effectiveness of our force protection measures and fill any gaps.”
Soldiers, Marines and Romanian security personnel played the most prominent roles in the exercise, manning key checkpoints, conducting patrols and coordinating operations. Emergency responders, including Army firemen and military police officers, and medics from all the services, also participated. MPs augmented Romanian security forces while Marines provided the exercise quick reaction force.
As expected, integration of diverse collaborating elements and resource management posed the most significant challenges.
“Integration of the host nation effort was a priority,” Jacquet said. “We knew that would be challenging because of the differences in resources, equipment and language.” Achieving unity of effort among disparate U.S. organizations of widely divergent size, composition, training and service culture proved equally daunting.
Typical human obstacles to ideal scenario training also intervened.
“If there’s a way to ‘get over,’ people will find it,” Capt. Thomas L. Dixon, the director of emergency services at MK and a native of Belleville, Ill., observed. “People will drive around the barriers and park wherever they can. And some people were honestly confused over where they’re allowed to go. But that’s something we can fix.”
On balance, organizers agreed, the unorthodox “team of teams” delivered a strong performance.
“For where we’re at and how far we’ve come in a short time, with so many different elements coming together, it was very successful,” Jacquet said. “There were no show-stoppers. There were no measures we couldn’t implement. If we had to go to ‘Threat Con Charlie’ tomorrow, there’s nothing we couldn’t accomplish.”
“Everything went according to plan for us,” Dixon added. “We worked seamlessly with the Romanians and the Marines. The security patrols significantly reduced their response times. They arrived on-scene with the Marines ahead of schedule.”
Col. Ron Bahr, director of the Black Sea Area Support Team and head of American security efforts, described the exercise as an unqualified success.
“Overall, I think we have all our reporting mechanisms in-place – and they’re effective,” the Tacoma, Wash. native said. “The exercise allowed us to refine some of the smaller mechanical and communication issues. This helped us identify some key areas to work on and validate what we thought we already knew. Nine months ago, we had no firm ‘AT’ plan in place and now we have around a 98-percent solution.
“The partnership among BSAST, 21st TSC, Black Sea Rotational Force and the Romanians is key,” he continued. “This was a very good collective effort. It identified any shortfalls and the issues we’d face if we had to sustain a higher threat condition level for a longer period of time.”
Event organizers, Jacquet said, will compile input for U.S. Army Europe review and inclusion in local plans and standard operating procedures.
| Date Taken: | 10.17.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.20.2014 05:13 |
| Story ID: | 145450 |
| Location: | MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU, RO |
| Hometown: | BELLEVILLE, IL, US |
| Hometown: | MIAMI, FL, US |
| Hometown: | TACOMA, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 57 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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