Guardian Justice begins at FOB Westbrook

Photo By Amabilia Payen | Soldiers assigned to the 814th Military Police Company, U.S. Army Reserve, conduct fire drill exercises, May 25, where several Soldiers act as detainees and others rehearse the fire drill, all in part for Operation Guardian Justice held at Forward Operating Base Westbrook in McGregor Range, N.M. (Photo by Amabilia Payen, DoMaD)  

FORT BLISS, TX, UNITED STATES

05.30.2014

Story by Amabilia Payen 

Mobilization and Deployment, DPTMS Fort Bliss

MCGREGOR RANGE, N.M. – Army Reservists throughout the U.S. conduct a two-week annual training exercise in order to remain proficient in their military skills. Thanks to the combined efforts of the 200th Military Police Command and the Directorate of Mobilization and Deployment, Operation Guardian Justice began April 15, and will focus on internment/rehabilitation tasks and detainee operations for MPs providing care, custody and safe control of those populations they could someday be guarding.

Operation Guardian Justice started in 2010, and this year, it will be held at Forward Operating Base Westbrook. The 11th MP Brigade from Los Alamitos, California, in coordination with DoMaD are spearheading the exercise.

The 814th MP Co. from Arlington Heights, Illinois, and the 361st MP Co. from Ashley, Pennsylvania, were the first iteration for Operation Guardian Justice. Both units arrived May 16, trained through Memorial Day weekend and completed their cumulative training exercise May 27 and 28.

Instructors come from all over the U.S. under the 200th MP Command. Many of the instructors volunteer to teach and train, while others are required to attend to complete their annual training along with their unit.

Spc. Dendray Ballard, 805th MP Co., trained many Soldiers throughout his military career and is also a trainer in his civilian job for the North Carolina Department of Health and Safety. “In my civilian career, I teach these techniques just as well, both to local law enforcement and corrections,” said Ballard. “There are 11 of us as a team throughout the entire state. We do force-cell, riot control, close combat, hostage recovery and a few other things.”

During the cumulative training exercise (CTE) with 814th MP Co., Ballard posed as an unruly detainee, simulating a situation that occurs at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. His actions prompted trainees to conduct prisoner-cell extractions. A five-man team was quickly assembled. Donning their gear and running through the preparations, the team was ready to extract Ballard, who in turn was ready to put up a good fight.

After 10 minutes of wrestling, massive sweat, grunts and excessive commands of, “Stop resisting!” – the five-man team was able to safely detain Ballard, remove him from his cell and sit him in a chair. Afterwards, the unit medic conducted a health assessment on Ballard, still acting as a detainee, to make sure he wasn’t hurt.

Ballard complimented the team after the cell extraction was complete. “They worked really well, they communicated a lot,” said Ballard. “I was trying to give them, on purpose, a lot of complicated things to adjust to at the same time. Like, doing a lot of yelling, trying to throw them off of what they wanted, but they stuck to their protocol and didn’t get overly emotional, so that was a good thing. The goal of this training is not to get too emotional, not to use excessive force. The goal is to get them to do their job and nothing more.”

Spc. Gabriel Gomez, 814th MP Co., was part of the five-man team and realized that after Ballard put up a good fight, the training was paying off. “I feel pretty good about the extraction,” said Gomez as he worked to catch his breath. “It’s definitely a good exercise to do before we (go on a) deployment. It’s definitely preparing us for unruly and combative detainees.”

Sgt. 1st Class Charles Moyer, 340th MP Bn., is the non-commissioned officer in charge of CTE instructors and wants Soldiers that go through Operation Guardian Justice to take home a sense of accomplishment. “Most of us that come here to train Soldiers, volunteer and we are appreciative of what DoMaD does to help us. Without them, we would not be able to conduct this training,” said Moyer, who is also a corrections officer for the state of Pennsylvania.

Operation Guardian Justice is scheduled to conclude on or about August 15 and it is estimated that about 1,400 Soldiers will participate.

• Date Taken: 05.30.2014
• Date Posted: 06.17.2014 16:20
• Story ID: 133403
• Location: FORT BLISS, TX, US
• Hometown: ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL, US
• Hometown: ASHLEY, PA, US
• Hometown: LOS ALAMITOS, CA, US