Fort Leavenworth MPs train on detainee database, tracking systems

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (May 21, 2009) - The 705th Military Police Internment and Resettlement Battalion is the first active-duty unit in the continental U.S. to have the BATS and DIMS systems, and training on these systems will better prepare the battalion for their deployment to Iraq later this year, said battalion executive officer Maj. Macedonio Molina.

First fielded in the 1990s, the Biometric Automated Toolset System is a computer program that identifies people and generates a computer record of an individual that populates a secure, globally accessible database. BATS consists of a laptop, camera and fingerprint scanner, and the 705th will use BATS as one of the first steps in identifying and in-processing new detainees.

Staff Sgt. Christina Pearson of the 705th said she trained for about four days to become a BATS operator.

"It's high speed to me. I've never seen anything like this," she said.

The Detainee Information Management System tracks information on individual detainees, cells and cellblocks. First Lt. Robert Green, an operations officer in the 705th, explained that DIMS tracks the number of detainees assigned to a cellblock, the number present, and if medical personnel or other visitors have been or are scheduled to be on the cellblock.

Sgt. John Walden used DIMS during a deployment to Camp Bucca, Iraq, and is now training 705th Soldiers how to use the system. He said it takes about two weeks before a Soldier can fully know and operate the system.

DIMS is a downloadable computer program that operates on a secure network. Walden said DIMS could track up to 25,000 detainees globally, but that only one or two operators were required to run any one system. DIMS tracks daily reports and detainee appointment schedules, and issues orders electronically to cellblocks where and when to move individual detainees.

"We can track each detainee, where they're at in the compound. DIMS aids us in keeping positive control in knowing where detainees are at all times," Walden said.

Maj. Daniel Rempfer, 705th battalion operations officer, explained that BATS was a tool for identifying detainees, while DIMS allows for centralized operations.

"They talk to each other, but they don't do the same thing," he said.

Molina, a former DIMS instructor, said DIMS has been taught to National Guard and Reserve Soldiers at Fort Bliss, Texas, since 2006. After coming to the 705th, he said he pushed for the battalion to acquire the systems, and said they have had BATS and DIMS for about three months.

Molina said being able to train on the systems before deploying and using them in Iraq has benefited the battalion.

"We're probably 80 percent more prepared than other units deploying to Iraq with these systems and the capabilities they bring," he said.

Rempfer said the 705th would be deploying to Camp Taji north of Baghdad and will manage about 5,000 detainees.