MONDAY, JUNE 19TH

Unfortunately, I cannot write about all of the training I’ve had recently. There’s imply too much to tell. So, things have picked up a bit.

The basic topic we’ve covered is EPW (enemy prisoner of war) camps like Abu Gharib and how to run them. On Friday we were tested on everything we learned by running a EPW facility for 8 hours. For 4 hours, half of us acted as guards, while the other half acted as typically unruly detainees. After 4 hours, we switched roles. The entire day was a blast, even with the extreme heat.

For the first 4 hours I was a guard. However, I was placed on the QRF (quick reaction force) for the facility. Our job: control riots and unruly prisoners. Police batons, riot shields, handcuffs and pads were issued to us. And, as serious as our testing was, we had so much fun beating the crap out of each other.

This has been the first time since pugils that we’ve gotten to take our frustrations out on each other, so I was thoroughly excited to be holding a baton and acting as point man for the team.

Our first task was to control a riot. Only about 20 detainees were involved, and it was limited to a small section of the facility, but we went in anyway. All four of us in the ARF team arrived with batons “stacked up” on the gate to enter the compound area. Four vs. Twenty. We spotted the leader of the riot immediately and went for him.

I grabbed his head and pushed it down, while each member of my team went for a body part. He was down instantly, really before any of the other detainees noticed. But, then they noticed, and all hell broke loose.

They pounced on us all. It was a good fight, because we had the batons. My most satisfying moment, and the fondest memory I have, is throwing a “detainee” (a smart-mouthed kid from another platoon) who was trying to fight me back into a wall of the sleeping quarters. He actually hit the wall quite high, so that he bounced off and crashed into some of the cots. I took down two more before I went down. Batons are freakin’ awesome! A good time was had by all, though I was quite surprised by the amount of physical force being used against us for “training.” No problem though, because we got to be detainees in the afternoon.

Our first riot was short, because as former guards turned detainees, we had a plan before we started. Within 15 minutes of us being locked up, we had the new QRF team completely disarmed and on the ground, the keys to the compound, two guard ID cards, and two already outside the fence. The sergeants testing us were quite pissed at us, so we mellowed out after that. The final riot was by the best though.

During recreation time we started a “playground” fight. As predicted, the QRF team showed up, except there were two teams this time. Once the first team entered, we jammed the door to the rec area. (We’ll see how well they do when it’s four versus twenty.) Not well, apparently. When they rushed the “fighters” we grabbed them, too their batons and badges, and started taking off their uniforms. Even in play, humiliation isn’t fun, so the guards were quite pissed and got rather violent. Once we had cuffed them with their own cuffs, we went for the door.

The other QRF team was still trying to enter the compound. They were stacked up four deep pushing against the door. We stacked up eight and charged. We got it open enough to put a body through, so we started “crowd surfing” detainees over our heads and out the door. Once a few of us escaped and started releasing other detainees, the sergeants in charge of testing called an end to the exercise. Thank God too, because everyone was pretty beat up. We created a full-on riot and were barely pulling punches. Plus, they had run out of water to give us. Another exhausting, though rather enjoyable day.

We started our law enforcement classes this week. The most notable classes covered the use of force and evidence collection. Some law was also covered, which brought up some interesting points. For example, did you know that there is no privileged (private) communication between husband and wife in the military? Adultery is grounds for dishonorable discharge and up to twelve years in prison. Rape is grounds for capital punishment. And, military police are authorized deadly force even if there is only a “belief” on the part of the officer that a serious crime has been committed and the suspect is fleeing. All of this and more for only two days a month, two weeks a year! I guess they expect us to conform to stricter personal standards than other citizens. Good thing, I think.

Anyway, off to more law training. I hope all is well.

Benjamin