JOLON, Calif., -- Soldiers of the 160th Military Police Battalion from Nashville, Tenn., participated in a Senior Leaders Exercise during the Warrior Exercise 2016 at Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif., May 9.
The Senior Leaders Exercise tests the competence of senior leaders through demanding tactical, technical, and U.S. Army values-based training.
“The training is very real and deals with what we do,” said Lt. Col. Thomas Lemoine, commander of the 160th MP Bn. and native of Columbia, S.C. “As leaders it is very important what we do.”
The Soldiers of the 160th were accompanied by Soldiers of the 56th Military Police Company out of Meza, Ariz., and were tasked with convoying into a village to discuss key concerns of the village with its mayor while at risk of being attacked by possible enemy forces.
“The primary mission for this is to talk to the mayor’s cell and to get information on what’s wrong in the village and if there are any hostiles in the area,” said Staff Sgt. Brian Gonterman, observer controller trainer with the 422nd Military Police Company, and native of San Jose, Calif.
As part of the scenario the senior leaders were given a specific amount time to speak with the villagers before the area would become hostile according to Gonterman.
“There may be a suicide bomber,” hinted Gonterman prior to the start of the exercise.
During the training, while senior leaders met with the mayor, Soldiers of the 56th were greeted by role players simulating the local population as both friendly and hostile.
The civilians, as a friendly element, were a new concept for the Soldiers.
“We had really good planning as far as how we wanted to set up the vehicles, security and everything, but I wasn’t ready for the civilians,” said Pvt. Darian Gibbs, a combat medic with the 56th MP CO and native of Queen Creek, Ariz. “We have done other missions with civilians but it was more hostile than friendly.”
The senior leaders not only had to deal with the concerns of the mayor during the exercise they also had to ensure the safety of the Soldiers while treating the local population with respect. This may seem like a delicate balancing act but that is the overall intention of the exercise.
“This training is very versatile, the units can take away more than just the tactical aspect,” added Gonterman.
Despite the new challenges, overall the Soldiers were grateful for this new experience.
“I have never taken the civilians into consideration so this training was super helpful,” said Gibbs.
| Date Taken: |
05.09.2016 |
| Date Posted: |
05.16.2016 01:01 |
| Story ID: |
198184 |
| Location: |
JOLON, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: |
101 |
| Downloads: |
1 |
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