From Military Police to State Police: ESGR Works for Reciprocity

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Reginald Cole of Waynesville, Mo., deputy director of training for the United States Military Police School in Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., gives a briefing on the training offered at Fort Leonard Wood.

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FORT LEONARD WOOD, MO. (07/13/2011)(readMedia)-- Representatives from state and county police forces along with representatives from the Illinois Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) flew to Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo., June 14 to observe Army military police training.

"There is a state initiative by ESGR to examine the transition from military policeman to state policeman," said Mike Holub of LaGrange, Ill., the LaGrange police chief and the public affairs representative for the Illinois Committee for ESGR. "Therefore it makes sense to look at the existing training of the military police and see if it is comparable to what state police learn in their training."

The attendees of the trip were given in-depth briefings by Mark Premont of Dixon, Mo., the director of the plans analysis and interrogation office for Ft. Leonard Wood, and Reginald Cole of Waynesville, Mo., the deputy director of training for the United States Military Police School in Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., on the demographics of and the training offered at the post which includes, Army basic training; leader development training; chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear training; engineer training; and military police training.

Premont and Cole explained the training the military police receive and compared and contrasted it to what is learned in civilian police academies.

"We are trying to get the training cut down by four weeks so the military policemen don't have to be trained twice in the same areas," said Holub.

At the close of the briefings, the attendees were given a tour of the training facilities. They visited the Engaged Skills Trainer, a simulator that provides marksmanship training and trains Soldiers on a multitude of functional areas including weapons calibration and qualification.

They also visited Stem Village, a mock town named after Brig. Gen. David Stem used for training that includes confinement areas, a specialized housing area, a barber shop, movie theatre, bank and other facilities that most towns boast. In the town, the trainees have the opportunity to respond to exercise scenarios as they would in the field and interact with detainees as they would in an actual holding facility.

"The school has changed significantly since I was there in '75," said Coralyn Beem of Pana, Ill., the manager of mandated training for the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board and formerly a radio communications analyst in the Air Force. "Fort Leonard Wood offers a great technique. I like the mix of practical and classroom training. The Army seems to be leading edge when it comes to law enforcement training."

Beem said that after viewing the military training firsthand, the next step is to coordinate with the director of the standards board.

"My goal is to work with the interim director to compare the tasks and see if it meshes and determine if we can offer military policemen reciprocity," said Beem.