Ram soldiers train in pain

DEHDADI, AFGHANISTAN

05.02.2011

Story by Spc. Nathan Goodall 

170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team

DEHDADI, Afghanistan – What if you could win a battle by stopping it from happening? If you could take an enemy’s weapons before he used them? You would prevent deaths on both sides, catch the bad guy and protect the people under your care, desirable results attained from proper training.

Soldiers with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 40th Engineer Battalion, 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team taught Afghan uniformed police how to search and apprehend suspects at a police station here May 2.

“Raise your hands above your head!” shouted Sgt. Eric B. Oldham, a Columbus, Ohio, native, now a military policeman with HHC.

Cpl. Aron J. Bland, a Waterford, Mich., native, now a military policeman with HHC, stood ten feet away from Oldham with his hands raised above his head.

The muscles in Oldham’s neck constricted as he shouted more commands to Bland from across the room, until he felt “safe enough to approach.” He moved quickly toward Bland, each step kicking up a small puff of dust on the concrete floor.

The police watched Oldham and Bland, moving their heads side-to-side to catch all the angles as the two demonstrated ways to apprehend a suspect.

“We train as rough as the mission requires,” said Oldham about using genuine force during training. “We provide realistic training for a real mission.”

“We want to be courteous, we want to be polite,” said Oldham to the class. “However, if a detainee tries to fight you, he has to go to the ground for everyone’s safety.”

Oldham has eight years experience in the Army and is practiced at forcing suspects to the ground without actually hurting them.

Oldham took Bland to the ground instantaneously. Dust kicked up and coated Bland with a thick layer of sawdust-colored powder. His right cheek was painted with the powder and he had little control at this point, but he could take it.

With nearly five years experience as a military policeman and countless days training the Afghan border police since he arrived to Afghanistan in February, he had what it took to act as a suspect during training. As Bland lied with his stomach on the ground, hands behind his back, Oldham continued talking to the class as they demonstrated more techniques.

After the demonstration, the Afghan policemen reenacted the same exercise they had just seen. Few mistakes were made during the beginning of their practice, and by the end they were implementing the moves almost flawlessly.

“The standard we want is to make sure you can perform the task and do it safely,” Oldham said to the policemen.

“A police officer that is capable and can handle themself can get the mission done and go home at the end of the day, every day,” he said.

Afterward, the policemen shook hands with the Bayonet Soldiers and thanked them.

Oldham and Bland had mainly been training the Afghan border police up until this point. It was the first time they worked with the Afghan uniformed police, but not to be the last.

“We have a pretty good relationship with the border police right now,” said Bland. “There’s no reason we can’t have the same relationship we have with them with the [Afghan uniformed police].”

• Date Taken: 05.02.2011
• Date Posted: 05.14.2011 06:17
• Story ID: 70365
• Location: DEHDADI, AF