NOUMEA, New Caledonia – Soldiers from the 368th Military Police Company, stationed in temporary housing at Tontouta Air Base, began preparations April 28 for deployment to Wallis. The unit engaged in multinational training to enhance interoperability and readiness for natural disaster response operations, such as hurricanes, ahead of continued exercises on the nearby island.
On Monday, the U.S. MPs trained with the French Army of New Caledonia (FANC), Australian civilian and military partners, and the U.S. Marines during the Croix du Sud, a 14-day joint training exercise focusing on disaster relief, crisis events, and enhancing partnership and interoperability between the United States and the militaries of Oceania.
Sgt. Robbey L. Romanes, a 368th MP Soldier and non-commissioned officer (NCO) in charge of the 26 enlisted Army Reserve Soldiers stationed on Guam and residing in Guam, Hawaii, or Saipan and works alongside one commissioned officer.
"Our mission is to support the multinational mission of Croix du Sud in regards to what our MP capabilities are for the mission such as entry control point, traffic control point, area security, area and route recon [reconnaissance]. Anywhere they can plug and play us to do our roles as MPs to apply all of our five MP functions."
Romanes explained that the five key MP functions are maneuver and mobility support operations including reconnaissance and surveillance, area security operations including site security and response, law and order operations including law enforcement and developing host-nation police forces, internment/resettlement operations to manage military prisoners and enemy combatants, and police intelligence operations.
Sgt. Ryan Babauta, another 368th MP Soldier, emphasized the pride of the 368th MPs and how the friendly competition between nations makes the training engaging and mutually beneficial for everyone.
"For us to be a part of this [training during Croix du Sud] and to showcase our skills with the rest of the nations here, it's a very good opportunity to show them what we've got and the lessons that we learned from the classes that other nations have taught us."
The joint training sessions consisted of presentations on noncombatant evacuation operations, and how to effectively integrate with the Red Cross organization, military allies, civilian organizations, and a cultural brief educated all personnel about how best to interact with the local populations and wildlife on the islands of Wallis and Futuna.
Spc. Jacob Perez, a 368th MP Soldier, explained that controlling access and security is a challenging, but important responsibility of a U.S. Army MP Soldier.
"Not every aspect of our job is always going to be pretty. Sometimes you have to do the hard things that most people wouldn't want to do."
As an example, Perez explained that if this were a humanitarian crisis and someone were trying to travel from a challenging living situation by passing through the security checkpoint that he was guarding--he might not be able to allow them to pass based on the relevant security considerations at the time.
These tough calls are a regular part of the job for U.S. Army MPs, and their unique dual status as citizens with full-time jobs and their active Army Reserve status allows them to integrate skills from both careers, enhancing their expertise and effectiveness in both jobs.
Romanes currently works as an asset manager for Joint Region Marianas and is in charge of more than 30 facilities around all of the base installations on the island including all government vehicles and all the supplies coming in and out for various military service components including the U.S. Marines, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force, and a small detachment of active duty U.S. Army personnel.
Romanes' experience in this role enhances her effectiveness as an NCO because she can work more efficiently with other service branches and military partners from other nations.
"I can apply all of those things that I learned in my civilian job to help Soldiers when they speak to other nations and other military branches," explained Romanes.
For the last two years, Babauta has worked as a probation officer at Guma' Hustitia, the judiciary house of justice, located in Susupe, Saipan, which allows him to communicate effectively with diverse populations under challenging circumstances more effectively.
Perez has served as a police officer with the Guam Police Department for the past two years where he responds to 911 calls, calls to the precinct, and anything he encounters while on patrol and this makes him ready and resilient for a humanitarian crisis response that he is training for during Croix du Sud although the scope of the laws enforced are different.
"Being a civilian police officer and also a military police officer, we enforce the same kind of laws. It's just the statute's kind of different," he said and emphasized another big difference is that military police enforce the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) unlike civilian police officers.
The expertise, rigorous physical training, and strict professional standards of the MPs also makes them tough competitors in competitions like the commando obstacle courses of Croix du Sud, challenging events that strengthened the unit's esprit de corps and resilience, according to Romanes.
One nautical obstacle course that the MPs completed consisted of a series of challenges typical for a military obstacle course -- except for being suspended above water -- including walking across a cylindrical structure, climbing over nets and up ropes, and maneuvering over structures of varying shapes as fast as possible.
Another climbing course where the MPs made their mark consisted of a block of instruction on how to rappel with the proper posture and hand braking technique, so that participants descend in a controlled manner. In a final test of their tenacity and technical skills, participants later descend down a steep rock face.
"The event that stuck out to me most was all of the commando courses that they [the FANC] provided us," said Romanes. "It is not only the rewarding feeling of completing those tasks but it's also seeing the team cohesion of our unit getting stronger and all of these lower enlisted, to include the higher enlisted, being able to have fun but also work together."
Perez said he was thankful for all of the challenges and learning opportunities that the various training events at Croix du Sud have provided.
"It means a lot to be here. I love the experience. I love the training. I love dealing with other foreign nations, learning how they work, learning how they tackle certain obstacles, whatever they encounter."
Croix du Sud is the 11th iteration of the biennial joint/multilateral field training exercise organized and led by the FANC with approximately 3000 participants and using 13 aircraft and 5 ships from 18 countries.
In addition to the U.S. military, other participating countries include France, Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, the United Kingdom, Vanuatu, Chile, Colombia, Germany, Japan, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Peru, Singapore, Belgium, and the Philippines.
The motto of the 368th MP Company is "Booney dogs never die."
Booney dogs are descended from dogs brought over during World War II with a large population, so they are often considered invincible like the fighting spirit of the 368th Military Police Company.
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