DES and local Polizei strengthen relationships over weapons training

GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — The Upper Palatinate Polizei and U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria’s Department of Emergency Services held a joint Law Enforcement Weapons Training and Qualification exercise in the Grafenwoehr Training Area on May 18, 2021. Soldiers from DES and local Polizei went through the American LEWTAQ to strengthen bonds and train with each other.

“What we are doing for the Germans is to show them how we do [LEWTAQ],” said Staff Sgt. Simonis Gordon, the operations noncommissioned officer for DES. “And how you’re going to be moving and shooting with your patrol rifle at those closer engagements.”

This qualification exercise tests law enforcement officials for real-world scenarios. From moving failure drills to weapon transitions, the participants test their proficiency with both pistols and rifles.

The rifle qualification consists of 12 tables, where the participants conduct firing drills from various distances ranging from 50 meters to 3 meters.

The pistol qualification consists of 11 tables, where participants shoot a total of 50 rounds from different positions and varying distances (from 2 meters to 25 meters).

“I wanted to show [LEWTAQ] to our officers,” said Hubert Beer, weapons and tactics instructor for the Upper Palatinate Police. “They can use that training to make our weapons qualifications more efficient.”

But this exercise was not just about weapons training — it further strengthened the relationship between the two services.

“It’s always a good opportunity to work with DES,” said Beer. “We’ve done numerous training events together, and we’ve actually built friendships. It’s a good opportunity to train together [and] know each other in case anything happens.”

According to Simonis, DES supports the Polizei, and the Polizei does the same for DES.

“There is a certain camaraderie and brotherhood with all law enforcement officers, and it’s the same here,” said Simonis. “It’s a great opportunity to pick their brain and share our knowledge so that we can better serve the community.”