Security forces change course

All Hands, March, 2008 by Margarett J. Tyler

Sailors remember "back in the day," when the master-at-arms (MA) force was a group to be reckoned with. Although they were your shipmates, they were the ones who enforced rules and regulations and were sometimes disliked for it.

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Law enforcement was the foremost activity for these "military police." Duties included routine traffic stops with the occasional traffic citation; investigations on and off base (with the inevitable paperwork to be completed and filed); urinalyses; and taking charge of restricted personnel. That notion wasn't too far off, until October 2000 with the bombing of USS Cole (DDG 67). That bombing, reverberated throughout the fleet and struck a nerve with all those who stood for freedom.

For years before the attack, changes in the MA rating had been debated. Overnight, It became clear just how dramatic that change would need to be.

Prior to December 2000, only active-duty Sailors, E-5 or above, could submit a package to the Bureau of Naval Personnel to join the MA force. As 2001 began, recruits E-4 and below could become MAs. Since then the community has grown from about 1,000 members to approximately 9,500 today.

MA duties became still more complex as the detention of suspected terrorists fell to the community.

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MAs have assumed a more visible, powerful presence as the anti-terrorism (AT) and force protection (FP) experts for our maritime nation who monitor the waters and escort our vessels as they transport mission essential items,

Like many of the MAs who served before 2000, Master-At-Arms 1st Class (SW) Johnathan McCord, the leading petty officer of the non-lethal weapons course at Naval Technical Training Command (NTTC), Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, had a hand in the redesign of the MA community. McCord, who enlisted in the Navy as a cryptologic technician in 1996, remembered the mindset of the military police force.

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"When I went through here in 2000, we were mostly law enforcement oriented," said McCord. "Our job was strictly patrol, responding to domestics, traffic stops. Now we've moved to a security force posture.

"We still have those law enforcement billets out there, but that's a small percentage of what we do. The large percentage of what we do now is antiterrorism force protection. That's something the Navy needs," McCord added.

MAC(EXW/SW) Thomas Hammond, small arms instructor at NTTC, noted the various changes the MA rating underwent.

"Terrorism changed everything," said Hammond. "Before, you used to be able to go on a Mediterranean cruise and go port to port. Now, you're out guarding the oil platforms, you're perimeter security. We have MAs on the oil platforms, training Iraqis.

MA1(SW/AW) Robert Miller, instructor for the AT/FP portion of the MA "A" School, agreed.

"I'm teaching totally different techniques from what I did before," said Miller. "We really didn't have a major focus on improvised explosive devices, or setting up our primary and secondary response forces."

The expansion of responsibilities meant calling upon an experienced civilian force to bring their expertise into the mix. Most of the civilian contractors had prior military experience ranging from weapons handling to AT/FP measures and controls. They teamed with the MA instructors and designed a well-rounded curriculum for future MAs.

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The curriculum is broken down and taught in five phases to complete the basic knowledge of AT/FP and how to achieve it. The curriculum still incorporates fundamentals like cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and first-aid administration; hand-to hand combat; and lethal and non-lethal weapons.

This lead to a new portion in the "A" school curriculum with real-time scenarios designed to give the student practical experience. The use of non-lethal techniques, such as using a baton or oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray or pepper spray, are being encouraged more than ever.

"OC [training] is necessary because the military is employing more non-lethal weapons every year and to train these guys on OC gives them another weapon on their tool belt," said McCord. "That gives them more options instead of just having to pull out their firearm and use deadly force. Now, they have other tools that can help them save their lives without causing death or serious bodily harm to suspects.

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"This [training] is 100 percent realistic to what they can encounter in the fleet. We set the training up to give them the biggest advantage to better their success out in the fleet. If they happen to employ the baton or OC, then they're going to know how it works and how to use it out in the fleet," said McCord during an OC demonstration and utilization course, where students are put through a number of tests.

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Instructors hope to determine whether potential MAs can survive a blast of OC, engage four different opponents and secure two opponents using mechanical advantage take-downs even after they've been sprayed with the pepper spray.