Fort Leavenworth thanks area law enforcement partners

By Melissa Bower, Fort Leavenworth LampJune 7, 2012

Fort Leavenworth thanks area law enforcement partners
Kansas Highway Patrol Capt. Dek Kruger accepts a certificate from Deputy to the Garrison Commander Jack Walker during a recognition luncheon for area law enforcement agencies that partner with Fort Leavenworth, Kan., June 5 in the Installation Base O... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (June 7, 2012) -- The stories of successful partnership between Fort Leavenworth and outside law enforcement agencies are the ones the public doesn't hear.

When the family of a high-profile suspect visited him at the Joint Regional Correctional Facility, off-post law enforcement officers were responsible for escorting them safely to Fort Leavenworth. When foreign dignitaries and even heads of state visit the Command and General Staff College or other Army functions on Fort Leavenworth, off-post law enforcement assist them as well. Demonstrations and protests at the gate, inmate transfers and even training all happen without incident because of the partnership Fort Leavenworth has with outside law enforcement, said Jeffrey McCowen, Fort Leavenworth's director of Emergency Services.

Fort Leavenworth's DES, which is comprised of both fire and police services on post, honored those outside law enforcement agencies June 5. Visiting law enforcement included the Leavenworth Police Department, the Leavenworth County Sheriff, the Kansas Highway Patrol, the Platte County, Mo., sheriff and police, the Kansas City Airport Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Marshals, the Mid-America Regional Council, the Kansas Department of Transportation, and the KC Threat Early Warning Group, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security initiative.

McCowen detailed how each agency helped Fort Leavenworth -- from assisting Department of the Army Police file charges against civilians to finding ways to protect outside law enforcement officers from repercussions for working on Fort Leavenworth. Many agencies participate in Fort Leavenworth's regular training, learning how to respond to an escaped inmate, an active shooter, or other scenario.

Jack Walker, deputy to the Garrison commander, said there were other areas in which outside law enforcement partners are helpful as well. With the Army Management Staff College increasing the number of classes it presents at Fort Leavenworth, the post is likely to max out its barely 300 hotel rooms -- putting many government workers who are unfamiliar with the area into hotels throughout Kansas City.

"We take up a lot of motel space throughout Kansas City, and they're going to be staying in areas where you all have law enforcement," Walker said.

Outside law enforcement can also refer community members to some of the services available to them on Fort Leavenworth. For instance, Army Community Service on post can assist the family members of any Soldier killed in action, even if it was decades ago. At one time Fort Leavenworth's Survivor Outreach Services estimated there were about 100 families affected, but now know there are more than 300 Gold Star families in Kansas City. Military retirees can also get services and information on Fort Leavenworth, especially at the annual retiree day each fall.

Leavenworth County Sheriff Dave Zoellner and county law enforcement frequently patrol outside the borders of Fort Leavenworth that lie outside city jurisdiction, including the area surrounding the Military Corrections Complex.

"They know I've got their back," Zoellner said of Fort Leavenworth emergency services. "Anything we can do to assist them, we do, because they're part of our countywide law enforcement community."

Platte County Sheriff Richard Anderson and Capt. Mark Owen are often called upon to assist during inmate transfers or high-profile visitors to Fort Leavenworth.

"We're training with them, working with them on security analysis, working on protests, and we do a lot of emergency management planning," Owen said.

Anderson is retiring as Sheriff and Owen is running unopposed to be the next Platte County Sheriff.

"We've got an excellent relationship with the fort," Owen said. "We're a team."