Achieving combat readiness through training progression

Military Police, April, 2004 by Scott Jones, Detrick L. Briscoe

The 94th Military Police Battalion in Yongsan, Korea, continues to prepare soldiers and leaders to "fight tonight" by conducting tough, realistic, and challenging training. Over the past 18 months, the battalion has undergone a significant transformation, striking a balance between law and order and military police combat operations.

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The commander of the 8th Military Police Brigade stated that Korea is quickly becoming the 12-month training base for the Military Police Corps. Based on the Corps's support to operations in the Middle East, it is no secret that the brigade receives the bulk of its junior enlisted soldiers from the Army's advanced individual training (AIT) base. Additionally, many noncommissioned officers (NCOs) come from assignments that focus on law enforcement operations and therefore have little or no experience in conducting military police combat operations. To prepare soldiers to execute operations in this environment, the brigade commander directed units to focus on the basics: physical training, soldier and leader development, weapons proficiency and live-fire exercises (LFXs), maintenance, and quality-of-life improvements.

In support of this guidance, the 94th established weapons proficiency and LFXs as the center of gravity for training. By inculcating squad and platoon LFXs, and convoy LFXs (CLFXs) as culminating events, soldiers and leaders train toward battle-focused "high-payoff" individual, leader, and collective tasks necessary to accomplish important military police missions. Using this training strategy, soldiers quickly realize that they are not just preparing to fight in Korea but are also training toward their next assignment--possible deployment to Afghanistan or Iraq.

In order to prepare young and inexperienced soldiers, the brigade commander implemented a 6-week time management system in which units rotate through Red (law enforcement), Amber (support), and Green (mission-essential task list) training cycles. The Amber cycle focuses on soldier and

leader development by using junior NCOs as trainers. We must ensure that their knowledge of training is on the same playing level and that one training standard is enforced--the Army standard. As part of this training process, NCOs must first undergo a weapons certification program that develops their skills in the operation and employment of weapons and crew-served systems (such as the MK 19 machine gun). Certifying NCOs not only makes them subject matter experts but also enhances their ability to properly train young soldiers on weapons employment during the Green cycle. Additionally, NCOs must endure a leader certification program that trains them on individual and collective tasks associated with the Green cycle. This program includes professional development, military police doctrine and tactics briefs, rock drills, and sand table exercises. Written and performance-oriented assessments ensure that leaders master the subject material and are thoroughly prepared to conduct rehearsals and execute training.

During the 6-week Green cycle, soldiers and NCOs have the opportunity to conduct individual and collective training on tasks that support response force and convoy operations. Additionally, the inclusion of an 18-hour MK19 individual gunnery skills test (IGST) has proven to be the cornerstone of the gunnery program. The IGST--consisting of eleven critical task exercises; AN/PAQ-4B/C infrared aiming light and AN/PEQ-2A target pointer/illuminator/ aiming light technology; and a 4-day qualification range exercise--prepares the NCOs and soldiers for success during advanced gunnery and LFXs.

Individual Gunnery Skills Test

The brigade has a standardized IGST program to train and verify the expertise of gunners, assistant gunners, and team leaders before qualification. The IGST is supplemented by the brigade MK19 crew drill book, which further addresses each of these roles using tasks, conditions, and standards. The four main tasks imperative to success and lethality on the range are weapon zero, target acquisition and traversing, ammunition loading and stoppage reduction, and crew coordination. The IGST consists of the following elements:

* Preventive maintenance inspections on weapons.

* Eleven tested tasks (performed over a 2-day period).

* Individual knowledge and proficiency weapon assessment.

* A requirement for MK19 gunners and assistant gunners to achieve a "GO" on 100 percent of the tasks before proceeding to the qualification range.

Basic MK19 Gunnery Qualification

The standard MK19 military police qualification tables are designed to develop and test the proficiency of individual gunners and assistant gunners, while allowing them to properly demonstrate basic MK19 marksmanship skills. Basic MK19 gunnery qualification standards consist of the following elements:

* The performance of Crew Drill 6.

* Firing exercises with the MK 19 vehicle-mounted (on a M1114, high-mobility, multipurpose wheeled vehicle [HMMWV]) and ground-mounted vehicle (using an M3 tripod) to a stationary target.