Photo By Lance Cpl. Isaiah Gomez | U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Samuel Spearman, a military police officer with...... read more read more
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Junior military and civilian police officers serving at Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River are getting some invaluable one-on-one mentorship from more experienced law enforcement personnel through the Field Training Officer (FTO) program.
Designed through the Marine Corps Police Academy system, the FTO program is a 12 to 16 week course for junior military police officers to receive on-the-job training in military police work. One officer is evaluated at a time for training to ensure they are trained as effectively as possible. The program focuses on the police work fundamentals and proper protocol for procedures during different situations.
According to Lt. Eric Quintero, the assistant operations officer for the Provost Marshal Office (PMO) on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River, the FTO program is designed to build upon the fundamentals that Marines learn at the school house, giving them practical application of their training in real-life scenarios and guidance on orders and regulations specific to MCB Camp Lejeune and MCAS New River.
FTOs may be civilian or military police who have completed the FTO training course who are highly skilled and have been given the billet in order to further the force’s readiness.
“The purpose of the program is to ensure that the PMO is providing highly qualified and capable law enforcement officers to MCB Camp Lejeune as well as MCAS New River,” said Quintero.
Phase one and two consist of the fundamentals of police work. Police officers are required to learn proper protocol for the duties they perform regularly such as writing reports, conducting interviews and responding to calls.
Phase three consists of the trainee observing an experienced police officer on the job. As the program progresses, the trainee is given more responsibility to ensure that protocol is being properly executed.
Phase four of the FTO program is the trainee’s opportunity to apply the training he or she has received. The FTO observes and evaluates the trainee’s capabilities to perform to standards. During this phase, the trainee is evaluated on police vehicle driving, responding to calls, writing reports and conducting the duties of an experienced police officer.
“Going into the FTO program I was humbled, because I thought I knew a lot more than I did,” said Lance Cpl. Samuel Spearman, a military police officer with Headquarters and Support Battalion, Marine Corps Installations East-MCB Camp Lejeune. “I have been able to gain more perspective on the importance of learning the correct way to do my job so that I can create a safe environment for Marines, Sailors and their families.”
At the end of each training day, an observation report is conducted by the FTO which that evaluates an individual’s performance of tasks such as the operation of the police vehicles, interpersonal skills, report writing and knowledge of procedures. A rating of one through five is given in each subsection of the report with five being excellent and one being unsatisfactory. Anything above or below the score of three requires documentation for support.
PMO aims to train every civilian and military police officer in the FTO program. As of Aug. 10, 2020, MCB Camp Lejeune has roughly eight Marines in the FTO program.
“The FTO program is important, because it allows us to make sure that the Marines and civilians are conducting their operations at the same quality level of police capabilities,” said 1st Lt. Steven Brown, liaison officer, PMO, MCAS New River. “This program allows the Marines to feel the full level of gratification in what they do and gives them the confidence that they are fully contributing to the organization.”
| Date Taken: | 07.31.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 08.27.2020 14:33 |
| Story ID: | 376008 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 263 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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