Spc. Kaitlyn Cobos and Spc. Elizabeth Dixon, and other Oklahoma National Guard Soldiers with the 745th Military Police Detachment, listen during the guard mount, or shift change, June 22, 2021, at the Fort Sill Directorate of Emergency Services. They were two of the 27 National Guard Soldiers who were at Sill for their two-weeks annual training.

Sgt. Carlie Edstrom, 745th MP Detachment shift leader, checks her M9 pistol before going on patrol June 22, 2021, at Fort Sill. National Guard Soldiers from the 745th MP rode shotgun with Fort Sill police officers, and performed all the duties required of military police.

Spc. Angel Torres, 40th MP Detachment, enters case information onto a computer June 22, 2021, at the Fort Sill DES, before he and his shift partner Spc. Elizabeth Dixon go on patrol in a police cruiser. Torres is an active duty MP at DES, and Dixon is a National Guard MP, who was at Fort Sill for her annual training.

From left, a DA civilian police woman and an active duty military policeman meet with National Guard MPs Spc. Kaitlyn Cobos and Sgt. Carlie Edstrom before they go on patrol June 22, 2021, at Fort Sill. The National Guard Soldiers received their annual MP certifications here, and then rode shotgun with the Fort Sill police.

Fort Sill DA civilian police officer Lt. Andrew Roberts and his shift partner Sgt. Carlie Edstrom, 745th Military Police Detachment, prepare to go on patrol June 22, 2021, at Fort Sill. Twenty National Guard Soldiers from the 745th MP received their MP certifications during their annual training here, and were then qualified to patrol.

FORT SILL, Oklahoma (June 24, 2021) -- Oklahoma National Guard Soldiers from the 745th Military Police Detachment spent their annual training (AT) here getting their MP certifications. Then they worked side-by-side with military and DA civilian police officers at the Fort Sill Directorate of Emergency Services riding shotgun as they performed all the duties of an MP.

“It’s the best training I’ve ever had because I’m working with experienced MPs and (DA) civilian police” said Spc. Elizabeth Dixon, 745th MP investigator. “Now that I have this training, I feel confident in what I'm doing.”

Twenty-seven Soldiers from the 745th MP out of Mustang, Oklahoma, were here June 12-25, for their AT, said Staff Sgt. Stephen Gontz, the unit’s anti-terrorism and force protection section sergeant, and training officer. Twenty of the Soldiers were here to get their MP certifications, while the others performed command and control training.

This is the first year the 745th MP Soldiers have performed AT at Fort Sill, said Gontz. In the past they trained at a civilian police facility at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas.

“They really weren’t getting much hands-on experience per their job at Chaffee as I thought they could get at Fort Sill,” he said.

So Gontz, who in his civilian job works as a criminal intelligence analyst at the Fort Sill Criminal Investigation Division, began talks with post officials in October to get 745th MP training here.

“We worked training plans following the United States Military Police Academy’s law enforcement certification program,” he said. “That outlines a lot of training that has to get done and signed-off on to become certified.”

The MP training covered vehicle and individual searches, subduing individuals, levels of force, less lethal-capabilities and munitions, a radar gun class, and tactical medical training, Gontz said. Most of the training was provided by NCOs from the 745th MP.

Soldiers also had to qualify on the M4 carbine rifle, and M9 pistol on the Law Enforcement Weapons Training Course, which is a timed, tactical range specifically for police, Gontz said. “This was the first time we’ve done the course.”

And, the Soldiers received briefings from Fort Sill subject matter experts in law, and anti-terrorism/force protection, Gontz said.

On her patrols, Dixon said she and her partner responded to such things as a domestic disturbance, as well as assisting a unit with a health and welfare inspection.

Spc. Angel Torres, 40th Military Police Detachment here, has been patrolling with the National Guard Soldiers. “They’ve been conducting traffic stops, and helping out with the paperwork,” he said. “It’s going good, they’re really wanting to learn.”

Sgt. Carlie Edstrom, 745th MP shift leader, said this is the first time that’s she’s been able to do MP work during her annual training.

“I’m a hands-on learner, so now I feel I have a better understanding of our job as MPs,” Edstrom said.

Not only did the Soldiers patrol, they worked the MP Desk, rotated through the Military Police Investigation section, rode with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officers, and a couple of them visited the Military Working Dogs kennel to learn about the K-9 missions, Gontz said.

“They love it every day,” Gontz said. “They have a smile on their face and say, ‘Guess what I did today!’”

Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy Shephard, DES Operations noncommissioned officer in charge, said the National Guard Soldiers also took the new Army Combat Fitness Test 3.0 while they were here.

“It went pretty well. A lot of them passed and it was their first time taking it,” he said.

He said his DA civilian police officers have so much knowledge because they work the road every day. They share their knowledge not only with National Guard Soldiers, but also Fort Sill MPs.

He added that some National Guard MP units have Soldiers who work in law enforcement in their civilian jobs, and that they share their working knowledge with MPs during annual training. “So it’s a good training opportunity for both sides.”

Capt. Essence Campbell, 745th MP commander, said the certifications will allow her Soldiers to augment military forces at other commands. She described this year’s AT as fantastic.

“This is the first time for a lot of them to do their job duties in real time and real world,” she said.

She said the training has also provided opportunities to formulate networks with DES, and that the 745th MP Detachment plans to come back to Fort Sill for future AT. “We want to continue to build on the relationships and the training that we’re doing here.”