Photo By Capt. Monika Comeaux | Capt. Melissa Van Buhler, the Judge Advocate of the 4th Sustainment Brigade gives a...... read more read more
CAMP TAJI, Iraq - Soldiers who are individually mobilized to be part of Military Transition Teams (MiTT) or Special Police Transition Teams (SPTT) often don't get the same training mobilizing units do, so as they arrive in theater, they go through a ten-day program at the Phoenix Academy at Camp Taji, which prepares them for their unique missions.
One of the most important classes at the academy is the class on Rules of Engagement, the "when to shoot class" taught by Capt. Melissa Van Buhler, the judge advocate of the 4th Sustainment Brigade.
Besides describing the conditions a Soldier may fire his weapon, the class also contains information on detention issues, interrogations, the steps of escalation of force, detainee care and the custody of evidence, just to mention a few.
"I would like to think that I help these guys out by giving them tools that they might need when they are on the ground," Van Buhler said.
"I just give them some guidance on what to do and let them know what the concerns are in theater."
Van Buhler inherited the class from her predecessor in the 46th Corps Support Group. Since there are minor changes to the rules in theater almost daily, Van Buhler makes sure she keeps her class updated.
She sometimes teaches as many as 12 classes a week. Since she took over in October of last year, she has taught more than 2,000 MiTT and SPTT members.
Most students listen attentively and ask a lot of questions during her classes, Van Buhler said. "They are most interested in when they can shoot to protect themselves. They want to make sure that the rules are not so stringent that they can hurt them. They are also worried about what happens if they make a mistake."
Maj. Lavell Johnson, a mobilized Reservist from the 80th Training Division who will be assigned to an SPTT, took special interest in the ROE class.
"Since I am a police officer on the civilian side, I was pretty interested in the rules of engagement and how the laws vary on the Iraqi side of the house," he said.
"Surprisingly, it doesn't seem like the rules change that much. The laws are pretty similar. We will still have to execute the same level of care and caution as you would in any state," Johnson said. The only thing he did not find an equivalent of was the Miranda Rights police have to read to anybody they detain in the United States.
Another student, Staff Sgt. Larry Dehart, who is an infantryman also from the Army Reserve's 80th Training Division, found the information about warning shots the most useful.
"Last time I was here, there were no warning shots," he said. "I was always told you don't fire warning shots."
This is Dehart's second deployment to Iraq. In 2003, he was among the first troops to enter the country. His unit stopped at Baghdad and they didn't interact much with the Iraqi army or civilians.
This time around he is looking forward to working with the Iraqis and learning more about their culture. He knows how important it is to remember the information presented to him and his classmates in the ROE class.
All in all, it was a good class, Dehart said in conclusion.
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| Date Taken: | 05.05.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 05.05.2006 02:06 |
| Story ID: | 6275 |
| Location: | TAJI, IQ |
| Web Views: | 266 |
| Downloads: | 40 |
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