FORT LEAVENWORTH, KS--Soldiers from the 102nd Military Police Battalion spent their June 4 - 18 Annual Training at the Department of Defense’s newest military prison here.
Forty-four Soldiers from the 102nd MP Battalion’s Headquarters Company, which is headquartered in Auburn, spent Annual Training working with their counterparts from the 705th Military Police Battalion (Detention) at the Joint Regional Corrections Facility at Fort Leavenworth.
The Joint Regional Corrections Facility houses military members convicted of crimes who are serving a sentence of up to ten years. It is adjacent to the more famous United States Disciplinary Barracks which houses military inmates serving longer sentences.
The Soldiers assigned to the 102nd Headquarters Company are Military Police Corrections Officers, which means their role is to guard prisoners.
While at Fort Leavenworth, the 102nd MP BN Soldiers received training on riot control techniques, forced cell extractions, and defensive techniques in a corrections environment.
This was valuable training according to Capt. Katie Chen, the Headquarters and Headquarters Company commander.
“The Company has spent the past numerous years executing and mastering detention operations at Fort Drum. Although corrections and detention operations are very similar in their training tasks, we weren’t receiving the amount of corrections training that I felt the Company needed,” Chen said.
“By having our AT at Fort Leavenworth, it provided us with invaluable training that we cannot receive in New York. Our Soldiers were actually able to conduct on the job training inside a minimal/medium custody correctional facility,” she added.
Along with the MP corrections officers, Soldiers with supporting military skills were able to shadow their active duty counterparts inside the JRCF.
During five days of on-the-job training the Soldiers worked with active duty Soldiers, gaining valuable experience that they could bring back home with them, Chen said.
“ The Support MOS’s such as our cooks, medics, engineers, admin, supply, commo, and the Chaplain Assistant, were also able to conduct on the job training, “ she said.
“This allowed them to have better insight on what exactly their role is inside the facility. A lot of our training at home station is MP oriented, but this training showed the support MOS’s just how critical they are for our mission, “ Chen added.
In addition to working with active duty Soldiers, the HHC Soldiers were busy with training that would benefit both their military and civilian careers.
Soldiers spent an entire day conducting medic training, which served as a re-fresher to maintain those skills. Other training included financial readiness, metabolic testing, nutrition awareness, and physical fitness.
The New York Soldiers attended a semi-professional arena football game in Kansas City, received a guided tour at the World War One museum, and toured the Fort Leavenworth national cemetery.
“The Soldiers definitely enjoyed the training and felt like they gained valuable knowledge and skills to bring back home and implement in future training,” Chen said.
Story by 1st Lt. Derrick Rocker, HHC 102nd Military Police Company