FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. – For two weeks in June, Soldiers of the 152nd Military Police Company, 203rd Military Police Battalion, Alabama National Guard, will be working hand-in-hand with Soldiers of the 716th Military Battalion, 101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), at Fort Campbell.
According to Capt. Anthony Fisher, operations officer for the 716th Bn., this training benefits both active and National Guard Soldiers.
“We are using this training to synchronize our efforts across the battalion and company levels,” stated Fisher. “The National Guard Soldiers are providing our Soldiers some insight into the civilian law enforcement mission essential tasks, while our Soldiers are training them on military field operations.”
Fisher explained that not only are the 716th MP Bn. Soldiers demonstrating tactical skills, they are also helping 203rd MP Bn. Soldiers familiarize with military installation operations as well.
“This is a unique experience; having the National Guard here to work and train alongside us is great,” Fisher said. “We are one family, and we are working together to better each other; it is imperative that we build a strong relationship because when we do deploy, we will be working directly with them as they support us and this strengthens our relationship.”
Sgt. Trent Mason, a patrol supervisor for the 194th MP Co., 716th MP Bn., stated he thought that the National Guard Soldiers were doing an outstanding job during this training exercise.
“We are providing them with a variety of training experiences, such as how we would conduct a Standard Field Sobriety Test or how we do vehicle checks at the installation gates,” Mason said. “Talking with their leadership, National Guard Soldiers said that they are here to learn as much as they can from us as well as see if they can teach us anything; I think this is a great experience to have for both sides.”
According to 1st Lt. Meggan McNeese, executive officer for the 152nd MP Co., she and her Soldiers have loved the opportunity to gain real-world training experience.
“For the last year we have been training and preparing our Soldiers to come and do this law enforcement mission, this is one of the first times that the Alabama Guard has been able to come and train with our active duty component,” said McNeese. “Since our Soldiers have started on the road, I’ve heard that they have been extremely busy with several cases. Our Soldiers have been very excited and super engaged.”
McNeese shared that she and her Soldiers were learning a lot as well as getting to share their knowledge from the civilian side, making for a very impactful training event.
“I think it’s an outstanding experience for our Soldiers to get out and see how the active duty component operates and lives,” McNeese stated. “It’s an amazing experience to get to do this, and everyone here has been very hospitable; we’re fortunate to get to come train here.”