Photo By Sgt. Sang-cheol Lee | Staff Sgt. Chrstopher McKinney, 188th Military Police Company training noncommissioned...... read more read more
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DAEGU, South Korea – Working in a foreign country can be hard, especially when the job is enforcing laws across a language barrier.
The 188th Military Police Company, headquartered at Camp Walker, overcomes these difficulties with the help of the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army program. KATUSAs enhance the capability of military policemens by providing a bilingual ability.
“We can use the language skills of our KATUSAs to help us out,” said 1st Sgt. John E. Eastwood, 188th Military Police Company first sergeant. “Also, since it is the first time for most American MP soldiers in this unit to get away from the U.S., this KATUSA program is very helpful for them to get to know the Korean culture and get to know Korean in period.”
KATUSAs are conscripted army soldiers who work as a bridge between the U.S. Army and the Republic of Korea. MP KATUSAs are an important asset when dealing with Korean nationals on a U.S. military installation.
“One reason why they are essential to us is that we work with public a lot. There are a lot of local nationals and contractors on-post,” said Sgt. Scott D. Coyle, 188th MP Company operations law enforcement certification noncommissioned officer in charge. “When they do not speak English fluently, we can have our KATUSAs, who are in each patrol vehicle, handle the situation.”
MPs in the 188th MP Company protect installations in Area IV and keep people safe by enforcing laws with U.S. soldiers and KATUSAs on each patrol.
“We drive around and make sure buildings are secured during patrol,” said Spc. Jeffrey Valasco, 188th MP Company team leader. “If the building is not secured, we call the Provost Marshal’s Office and have MPs go over there.”
“The MP unit contributes only one U.S. soldier and one KATUSA to each patrol team for efficiency. There are some papers that only U.S. soldiers can deal with and there are a lot of Korean people that only KATUSAs can communicate with,” said Cpl. Kim Han-byeol, 188th MP Company.
The MP’s authority applies to everyone on-post.
“There are classes that teach MPs that since they are working for provost marshal, they have to be confident,” said Cpl. Jeong Ye-chan, 188th Military Police Company senior KATUSA. “Even if the offender of the law is high ranking person, we do not care since that is our job, and that is what we were taught.”
U.S MPs go through basic MP training for 19 weeks at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. However, KATUSA MPs are certified by their assigned unit.
“After they get to the unit, they go through law enforcement certification which is composed of 10 days of classes and practical exercises, and they have to meet the standards set by the military police school house,” Coyle said. “And then, they have to work day, swings and mid shifts two times and town patrol one time for seven days.”
“I think it is natural that there are lots of training and certifications to be an MP,” said Pvt. Kim Young-sang, 188th MP Company trainee.
Since one team has to stay together and work together for eight hours every day, partnership and team building are important.
“All of our KATUSAs get along with U.S. soldiers very well. KATUSAs are brothers-in-arms for us,” Coyle said.
This partnership helps soldiers by having a reliable person to work with.
“Wherever I go, there is always my partner. We have to move together all the time so that we can cover each other every second,” Kim Han-byeol said. “Sometimes I feel scared if the person I have to apprehend is bigger than I, but since there is always my partner with me, I can get my confidence back and handle him easily.”
Despite the challenges of being MPs they always accomplish their missions.
“I felt great when I became an MP because I wanted to be one from the beginning. Since my job is protecting people, I thought I could build my responsibility,” Kim Han-byeol said.
“I think the work itself will be fun and worth doing. As a police officer, I will realize a society of justice and I am looking forward to it,” Kim Young-sang said.
| Date Taken: | 01.16.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 01.16.2013 02:11 |
| Story ID: | 100578 |
| Location: | DAEGU GWANG'YEOGSI [TAEGU-KWANGYOKSHI], KR |
| Web Views: | 1,481 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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