MP training emphasizes war zone strategy to help improve Iraqi, Afghan

[unhappycamper]

MP training emphasizes war zone strategy to help improve Iraqi, Afghan
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Thursday, February 7, 2008

GRAFENWÖHR, Germany — Soldiers from the 793rd Military Police Battalion have been training here to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan later this year to serve as mentors to police forces in those countries.

Battalion Sgt. Maj. Michael Cieslewski, 42, of Naugatuck, Conn., said the training was a combined mission rehearsal exercise for Wiesbaden’s 212th MP Company, which is bound for Iraq, and Hohenfels’ 527th MP Company, which is headed to Afghanistan. The training wrapped up Wednesday.

First Lt. John Crumley, 36, of Sacramento, Calif., the battalion training officer, said both units will form police transition teams that will work with the Afghan National Police and Iraqi police.

During the exercise, the MPs interacted with German-speaking role players in a mock village that was assumed to be in Iraq when 212th soldiers visited it and in Afghanistan when 527th soldiers were there.

“We focused on training soldiers to establish and build rapport with Iraqi and Afghan police … how to train these individuals so they can be self-sufficient to protect their own village or city,” he said.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=52277