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thedrifter
02-09-06, 06:04 PM
Guarding gates of MCLB Barstow will fall under protection of newly graduated civilian police force
MCLB Barstow
Story by Pfc. Quentin Grogan

MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, Calif. (Feb. 9, 2006) -- In the near future, civilians armed with the training and skills of Marines will replace Marines at the front gate.

The police aboard MCLB Barstow are the next step the military is taking in the transition of military to civilian and the first to do so throughout the entire Marine Corps.

The new police undergo specific training similar to the same training police officers go through for public police departments. That includes a total of 160 hours of training over a four-week period. The students receive instruction in firearms, where they learn to use the Beretta 9mm and the Joint Service Shotgun. Another portion of the training is the self-defense class, which teaches students techniques required for the job. Patrols, proper gate procedures and other requirements for the job are also taught, said Stephen Reese, Homeland Security Solutions, Inc. director of operations for the Pacific Region.

During the course, six instructors teach students how to be police officers for the military and prepare them for duty. Each of the six instructors brings many years of experience, which includes an instructor with over 20 years of law enforcement experience, a Vietnam veteran, a former force recon Marine, and the former provost sergeant for MCLB Barstow.

Before graduation, students are required to pass tests given during the course to include a physical fitness test, which consists of 20 push ups in two minutes, 25 crunches in one minute and a one and a half mile run in less than 15 minutes, said Reese.

Currently, the first class consists of 19 students with a second class scheduled to start Feb. 13. After all the training is over, the expected number of police on the force will be 77, said Reese.

Upon graduating from the initial four-week training, the students will then begin the field training officer program in which they will shadow a Marine military policeman. During the field training, the students will learn base-specific situations students are not taught during the initial training. During this 30-day course, the students will have to pass both base specific tasks along with training standards, said 1st Lt. Michael Azat, deputy Provost Marshal.

"[The students] will be doing everything the current military police do," said Azat.

Once all required training is complete and the current military police have turned over responsibilities to the newly trained police officers, the new police will be responsible for guarding the gates, investigations, pass and identification and other responsibilities, said Azat.

With the training they receive, the new police will take over for the military police who are moving on to operational forces, leaving the task of protecting and serving MCLB Barstow to the replacement force.

Ellie