FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. –
The U.S. Army Reserve's 310th Military Police Battalion out of New York conducted corrections operations in the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks with guidance from Soldiers in the USDB Battalion (Corrections) from Feb. 1-14 to prepare for an upcoming deployment to Kuwait with a correctional mission.
The training focused on pre-service corrections training, custody and control, force cell move operations, and situational exercises before posting in the USDB, which houses more than 400 inmates.
For the first time in the battalions’ relationship, Soldiers from the 310th MP Battalion spent their 14-day training assembly working and training full time inside the only maximum security prison in the Department of Defense.
Col. Kevin Payne, commander of the 15th Military Police Brigade, said it is important for Soldiers to train in all of the corrections tasks before taking on any correctional job or any mission around the world. The USDB provided the environment for the 310th MP Battalion soldiers to gain experience conducting 24-hour correctional operations before their deployment.
Lt. Col. John Magliocca, USDB Battalion commander, said this annual training prepared Soldiers for corrections operations overseas. Operations, he said, have developed a lot through the years because of modernization and the new generation of Soldiers.
“The 310th MP Battalion came with Soldiers from different backgrounds; of this group, we trained Soldiers that work in law enforcement and Soldiers that work in retail. Our training was set up to cover all the gaps and prepare them to take over a detention facility in Kuwait.”
Lt. Col. Stephen Anest Jr., 310th MP Battalion commander, traveled to Fort Leavenworth to learn about the correctional mission and discuss further training opportunities.
He said that the corrections/detentions mission has a multitude of variants between the active and Reserve components. The 310th MP BN training cycle at Fort Leavenworth gives Reserve units the opportunity to expand on their knowledge and understand how the active component grapples with the correctional mission.
Anest said that he wanted to open the door for other Reserve units to acquire quality training and experience that comes from collaboration with the USDB Battalion.
This annual training cycle serves as a keystone experience for the 310th MP Battalion Soldiers by using the training as validation for their deployment to Kuwait in the summer and is setting the standard for other Army Reserve units to follow.
Sgts. 1st Class Martin Alonzo and Thomas Rincon, USDB Battalion, were directly responsible for training and coaching the 310th MP Battalion Soldiers. Both non-commissioned officers visited the Army Reserve Center in Farmingdale, New York, prior to arrival of the unit’s Soldiers to Fort Leavenworth. Alonzo and Rincon trained the unit on unarmed self-defense, non-lethal capabilities, force cell move, and riot control to assess their proficiency before posting by themselves in the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks.