Joint! NCO leadership in a multicomponent/joint services military police brigade

Military Police, Spring, 2009 by Edgar W. Dahl

One of the best ways to find out who makes up a military unit is to stand at the entrance of the dining facility and watch the customers as they filter in. At one dining facility entrance, in particular, khaki-clad civilian guards contracted from Uganda check the identification (ID) of those entering the busy facility. The guards take the ID cards, scan them, and compare the photographs with the faces of their owners before returning them. The U.S. Army seal appears on some of the cards. On others, it is the U.S. Navy or U.S. Air Force seal that is right there on the front. Another is affixed with the eagle, globe, and anchor of the U.S. Marine Corps. Personnel wearing civilian clothing also trek through the door; their ID cards contain a variety of print. The tan-colored patterns of desert camouflage uniforms mix with digital camouflage patterns; and jeans and polo shirts are just as common as the blue, yellow, and gray military physical training uniforms. English blends with a half dozen other languages as people of many nations grab a bite to eat. This is the entrance to the Camp Bucca, Iraq, dining facility--a place that is busy, colorful, and frequented by all kinds of people.

Camp Bucca is located in the southeast corner of Iraq, about 800 meters north of the Kuwaiti border and slightly over 800 meters from the Iraqi port town of Umm Qasr. Its location is not a coincidence. It is here--in the area bumped up against the ocean and the Kuwaiti border--that, when planning the 2003 Iraqi invasion, coalition forces envisioned their "rear area." The rear area is where captured enemy combatants and other detained personnel were kept--at least according to what is now outdated doctrine. However, due to the asymmetric nature of the warfare in Iraq, there is no defined rear area. So while Camp Bucca is very close to Kuwait, it is nonetheless subject to attacks and insurgent activity.

Camp Bucca, which is operated by Task Force Military Police South, is home to the largest detention facility in the U.S. military. Each of the four U.S. military services is represented here. The basic mission of the task force (referred to as Task Force Bucca) is to provide quality and professional care and custody for detained personnel. To accomplish this mission, the task force employs a large contingent of nonmilitary police, non-active-duty Army, and non-Army U.S. military personnel and civilians. This is because the length of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have caused military police units across the Army (Active Army, Reserve, and National Guard) to be deployed to the limits of their numbers.

The stretching of personnel resources has meant that the Military Police Corps Regiment has required help to accomplish its many missions in these wars. The supplementation of Army military police has been the norm for the duration of the War on Terrorism. Missions for the supplemental Soldiers have included security, law enforcement, route clearance, convoy escort, and participation on police transition teams. Some supplemental Soldiers have even performed detention operations at Camp Bucca.

Military Police Regiment officers and noncommissioned officers (NCOs) have become accustomed to leading nonmilitary police units from the three Army components and military police units and troops from sister services. Even with the complement of infantry, artillery, chemical, air defense, and other units, military police still find themselves with more missions than assets.

With a few rare exceptions, the senior NCOs of Task Force Bucca had not worked with, worked for, or been in charge of Soldiers from other Army components or members of other services. For the most part, those on active duty were familiar with active-duty leaders and subordinates, while those in the Reserve or National Guard were accustomed to Reserve or National Guard personnel. Interaction across services (Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps) was even less common. So, how do you function in an environment where the dynamics and demographics are totally new?

First, you must understand that the command climate need not consist of a "melting pot" of Active Army, Reserve, National Guard, and sister service milts. Each component and service should be allowed to retain its own identity and standards--except where uniform standards are necessary to effect operations. Encourage units to preserve their core values and celebrate their service traditions. Think of tiffs situation as a salad in which each individual ingredient adds to the flavor and variety without changing tile overall appearance of file salad itself. And let a tomato be a tomato. Unless you are involved in a joint operation and you are the lead, do not impose your traditions on other units. Rather, let them conduct their service boards; birthday celebrations; and promotion, transfer-of-authority, change-of-command, and award ceremonies. And attend these events when you are invited; the gesture will be appreciated, and units will be proud to show yon how they do things.