Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Mary Mott | Criminal Investigation Division Agent Chief warrant Officer-2 Melanie Hacker, a native...... read more read more
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq They are the shadow Soldiers, working mostly behind the scenes a combination of police detectives, secret service agents and forensic investigators. Their skills include photography, writing, reporting and a keen sense of handling difficult and complex interpersonal relationships that rival that of any Ph.D. in psychology and beyond all of that, of course, they are Soldiers first.
Their roles vary from investigating crimes of a felonious nature committed against Soldiers and civilians employed on military bases, to guarding visiting members of the Department of Defense. Criminal Investigation Division agents serve both in uniform and in civilian attire, depending upon the missions.
They are sworn to uphold the law as it affects the military and enforce it fairly and without prejudice " and they take that job seriously.
The Soldiers of the 481st Military Police Detachment (CID), 10th Military Police Battalion, currently stationed in Iraq have a varied and all-encompassing role.
On Camp Liberty, Forward Operating Bases Falcon, Kalsu, Loyalty and Prosperity, and the International Zone, the small unit serves as both an investigative and protective service. CID services on adjacent Camp Victory falls under the 76th Military Police Detachment, a sister element under the 10th MP Battalion.
Unlike their role back home in either Germany or the United States, the unit also investigates civilian crimes as well as crimes involving Soldiers or other military members.
The unit is made up of roughly 15 agent-Soldiers in addition to Sgt. 1st Class Robert Billingsley, detachment sergeant, serving in the role of first sergeant, a chief warrant officer-3 who serves as the special-agent-in-charge and one full-time vehicle mechanic. All were culled from CID units throughout Germany and the United States for this mission. The unit was assembled in August.
This is a small career field, with only about 900 CID military agents and roughly 2,000 total in CID worldwide " if you throw in civilians working at forensic laboratories and related fields.
Billingsley is typical of the Soldiers in his unit who have chosen CID as a career. An intense and dedicated man, the native of Banner County, Neb., said he believes the work of the CID is a vital one to the defense of his fellow Soldiers and his nation.
Billingsley said he realizes that for a Soldier who steps outside the law, the CID can be seen as a "villain," but simply because the individual accused of crime is a fellow Soldier, the charge cannot be dropped.
"The cost of not conducting the investigations is much higher," he said. "We create a layer of transparency so the public can't say to the Army "oh, you're just covering stuff up." That is why we exist."
The Army's version of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Soldiers do not investigate a crime unless it is in the felony category. Misdemeanor crimes are investigated by MP Investigators.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Melanie Hacker, one of two female investigators in the unit, originally entered the Army 10 years ago as an MP, but "CID was always my goal," she said. Hacker recalled being profoundly affected by a college professor who was a CID agent and inspired her to make law enforcement her career.
Hacker, who hails from Athens, Tenn., has been an agent for five years now and is a 'team leader" for other agents. She teaches and clarifies the CID's role in dealing with rape and other sexual-assault cases to students in the Army's new Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program classes that train unit victim advocates. She also serves as a liaison and subject-matter expert with the newly formed Iraqi police version of the CID and convoys weekly to the city of Baghdad to meet with Iraqi officials to confer on cases.
A great deal of the agent's responsibility lies in "writing a good report," said Billingsley. The ability to separate fact from fiction, then put it down on paper in an unbiased, cohesive manner, is a big part of the job. It has to be fair, accurate, thorough and give the commander and trial counsel a clear idea of what the case is against the Soldier, reiterated Hacker.
"We are fact finders " we don't work for either side. On our oath, we are "deterred by neither fear nor prejudice," and we take that oath very seriously," she said
"Do what has to be done," is another tenant of the CID.
Being an agent "can be a lot of fun and very rewarding, but it is in some ways a thankless job," said Hacker. "You have to view your rewards on a personal level because you don't always get a 'thank you" from everyone."
Agents are constantly taking advantage of the many educational opportunities afforded them. Hacker has been to training in child abuse prevention and intervention, crisis negotiation, detective service training and numerous sexual-assault services courses.
Agents have the opportunity to become a polygraph examiner and can apply for a Masters degree program in forensic medicine offered by George Washington University. Opportunities also exist to attend the prestigious Federal Bureau of Investigation's academy.
Those who would like to apply to become an agent, but do not have the requisite six months of law enforcement experience, can perform on-the-job-training with a CID unit for six months to "evaluate and make sure that this career field is the right thing for them," explained Hacker.
The CID school, conducted at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., is a six-week course. A new agent serves a one-year apprenticeship period but is "fully credentialed as an agent" during that time, said Hacker.
The agents investigate economic crimes, including contract fraud, which can take years to resolve, computer crimes, sabotage, sex crimes, counter-drug activities, child abuse, murder, suicide, arson and any other of a variety of felony matters. They attend autopsies and interview countless people in the course of their investigations.
"You have to be an approachable person," stressed Hacker, because the work of an agent is intensely personal. "We are all "Type-A" personalities," she laughed, "independent thinkers."
The "glamour side of the job" is the opportunity agents have to guard high-ranking Department of Defense leaders, said Billingsley, but most is routine police investigative work. Agents also are called upon to give testimony at Court Martial trials and in federal and civilian courts.
For more information on becoming a CID agent, visit their website: www.cid.army.mil.
| Date Taken: | 05.24.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 05.24.2006 10:22 |
| Story ID: | 6505 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 1,001 |
| Downloads: | 39 |
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