The World's Force of Choice

Military Police, May, 2001 by Ronald C. Smith

The Military Police Corps has been called the force of choice within the U.S. Army. It is becoming more and more apparent that the MP are the most versatile and demanded unit on a global level. Task Force (TF) 793d MP Battalion, "Spartans," is comprised of the 527th, 615th, and 258th MP Companies. The 793d, as part of Task Force Falcon, and the Kosovo Force (KFOR) are leading the way in diplomacy, peacekeeping, and military bearing in the volatile nation of Kosovo.

KFOR is comprised of five multinational brigades. Each of these brigades has a specific area of responsibility (AOR) in Kosovo. Each brigade represents one of five countries: United States, Germany, Italy, Britain, and France. Each sector has numerous other nations working together to help keep the peace in Kosovo. In all, 33 nations support Task Force Falcon and KFOR.

On 10 January 2001, elements from the 258th MP Company trained soldiers of the 501st Greek Mechanized Infantry Battalion in civil-disturbance operations. Civil-disturbance training has proved to be among the most valuable commodities in the arsenal of the KFOR as Kosovar demonstrations are a normal occurrence. The citizens of Kosovo have repeatedly demonstrated the ability to communicate with and gather large numbers of people very quickly. These demonstrations create potentially explosive challenges to all units, especially those that are not trained to deal with this sort of threat.

The 258th trained 35 soldiers of the 501st in the tactics, techniques, and procedures associated with civil-disturbance operations. The 501st was tasked to provide one platoon as a quick-reaction force (QRF) to respond to civil disturbances across the Multinational Brigade (MNB) East.

On 1 February 2001, the value of the MP in Kosovo became more evident. For weeks, the Serbian and Albanian populations in Mitrovica (MNB North) had been antagonizing each other. Civilians began to threaten the safety and security of the French military forces in the area. The next day marked the 1-year anniversary of a very violent riot in Mitrovica, which had claimed the lives of several local nationals and injured many KFOR soldiers. This anniversary, coupled with the recent escalation in violence, created a nervous setting for a candlelight vigil that was scheduled for that night.

The commander of the KFOR (COMKFOR) decided that the forces in Mitrovica needed to be augmented with forces from what he called "the most powerful army in the world." Task Force Falcon sent about 150 soldiers to augment the French forces. At 0230 hours, 101 MP soldiers of TF 793d deployed through driving snow for a 70-kilometer movement to Mitrovica. This began more than 80 hours of continuous peacekeeping operations in that area.

The citizens of Mitrovica were very happy to see Americans in their town. I am still not sure if they really knew that we were MP, but I know for sure that the COMKFOR did. Near the end of the mission, he stopped by to visit the soldiers and express his thanks. This kind of an address from an Italian four-star general was priceless and will not soon be forgotten by the soldiers.

On 13 February, shortly after redeploying from Mitrovica, sniper fire rang out along a main supply route in the U.S. sector killing one Kosovar citizen and injuring two others. Immediately, an angry crowd began to gather in Strpce, and in no time, the crowd began to get violent. Normally peaceful citizens threw rocks, firewood, street signs, bottles, bricks, and Molotov cocktails. The crowd surrounded the police station in Strpce and infiltrated it. Inside the station were U.S. soldiers, U.N. police officers, and officers from the Kosovo police service (KPS).

By nightfall, the station had been ransacked and four U.N. and KPS vehicles set ablaze. A company's worth of MP had been called to the area as a reactionary force. As the first platoon arrived, it was evident that there was no time to wait on the rest. Twenty-four MP ran dismounted for about 700 meters before confronting the crowd of about 500 angry Serbians. Amid a hail of fire and debris, these soldiers rushed to the crowd, separated it by force, and secured the U.N. police station. When all was said and done, the MP walked away from the scene, having fired no shots and, more importantly, having sustained no major injuries.

With a track record like this, it is no surprise that on 2 March 2001, the 501st once again requested training from the 258th MP Company. It was time for the QRF to rotate from the commitment, and there was no better way to complete the transfer of duties than to have these 40 soldiers and two officers trained by the American MP. The Greek soldiers were trained on the use and wear of the riot-control equipment, vulnerable and lethal contact points of the human body, individual techniques with the riot baton, and riot-control formations. The leaders were trained on the use of force and force options, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each riot-control formation.

The capstone practical exercise forced the 501st to fight off an angry, and at times violent crowd of demonstrators, allowing an unpopular speaker to address them. During this exercise, the 501st showcased all that they had learned. We were pleasantly surprised when Colonel Cristos Bafciadhs, commander of the 34th Greek Mechanized Brigade, stopped by the training to give us his personal thanks. Colonel Bafciadhs went on to state that he was impressed by the quality of the soldiers that the U.S. Army calls the Military Police Corps!