ODT in Germany for 72nd MP's

Story and Photo's by Staff Sgt. Dennis Gravelle

138th Public Affairs Detachment

GRAFENWOEHR, Germany -- For National Guard Soldier's of the 72nd Military Police Company, Nevada, Over-Sea's Deployment Training here Aug. 1-21, provided a great opportunity to work side by side with their active duty counterparts.

ODT gives Soldier's the chance for on the job training, which they normally don't get much of a chance to perform on their drill weekends back home.

"Our company is currently here in Grafenwoehr on ODT working with the local Military Police to give our Soldiers an opportunity for on the job training," said Sgt. Stephen Cobb, 72 MP Co. "We get to see Soldiers that actually do our job everyday and gives you the chance to brush up on skills".

The 72nd MP Co. started their ODT on Aug 1 and immediately went to work performing law and order patrol and planning for the German-American Volks Fest the first weekend in August.

"One of our main missions was covering the 54th Annual German-American Volks Fest," said Private 1st Class Angelo J. Padilla, 72nd MP Co. "We manned traffic control points and conducted foot patrols to insure that both American and German citizens stayed safe and enjoyed the festival".

This isn't the first time the company has come to Grafenwoehr for ODT training, and for Spc. Damian Jorgensen, 72nd MP Co. coming back gave him a chance for hands on training and to learn from active duty Soldiers to get a different point of view.

"We had a great opportunity to work a few different missions, ride around with MP's on Post and do some traffic stops," he said. "We get to do MP work, which we normally don't get to do on drill weekends".

ODT not only gives Soldiers an opportunity to work with he active duty counterparts, it also gives them an opportunity to explore the German culture.

"A lot of our Soldier's from Vegas don't get out of Vegas that much, so this is a really good opportunity for them to get out and see what Germany has to offer and explore the culture," said Cobb. "The best part of ODT is actually Germany".

Padilla who is here on ODT for the first time appreciates the professionalism he has received from his active duty peers.

"The full time Soldier's have been very receptive of us being here, they are very professional and had us doing a little bit of everything," said Padilla. They kept us on our toes, keeping us sharp".