A mystery to some, a nuisance to others, the Royal Australian Corps of Military Police (RACMP). Irrespective of where one sits in the divide, it is an asset that many planners and commanders have little knowledge of how to employ. Yet Military Police (MPs) are present in almost all staff and joint planning teams. They are intimately integrated with manoeuvre elements in the close fight and provide critical rear-echelon security, enabling the warfighters to fight wars.

This article forms the first in a series on the role of MPs in land combat operations. This series seeks to provide commanders with a ‘ready reckoner’ of how best to employ their scarlet-capped supporting assets and will aim to provide a guide to the effects they can render in support of the manoeuvre plan.

As an initial caveat, it is important to highlight that the doctrine governing military policing is currently under review – with the 1st Military Police Battalion undergoing a process of modernisation and the Joint Military Police Unit now reaching operational maturity after its raising in 2018. With supporting doctrine such as the ADF Joint Publication on Prisoners of War, and Internment and Detention Operations awaiting finalisation, this series will provide a set of guiding principles and broad doctrinal figures for commanders to conduct planning.

As always, a commander’s or planner’s best method for determining specialist elements’ capacity to support is to engage with the subject matter expert (SME), so don’t be afraid to approach your nearest provost and ask how they can support your mission – nine times out of ten the speed gun isn’t even within reach.

MP support to internment and detention operations

Until the release of new doctrine, LP 0.2.0 Internment and Detention forms the crux of the land forces doctrine pertaining to the capture, classification, detention, and release of all captured persons. The doctrine is simple, accessible, and in a language all planners and commanders can understand. What this article will add is an outline of what MP, amid high tempo combat operations, can contribute to actively support the commander. MP support can be broken down into three fundamental blocks: formation C2 support, battlefield clearance support, and close support. Whilst the latter two may seem similar, there are several key differences.

Formation C2 support

To firstly address formation C2 support: at this level, the Provost Marshal, alongside the relevant brigade commander and brigade senior legal officer, work to classify and direct captured persons to the relevant detention facility or hand defined categories of persons off to the relevant authority. At this level, joint detention directives, status of forces agreements (SOFAs), and other key documents outline the broad pattern of life, thresholds for classification, logistic support, and authorities of the detaining force.

These authorising documents are typically where MP draw their authority in internment and detention operations. Understanding of the broad concepts, especially those pertaining to periods of detention for captured persons both prior to and after classification, will provide a commander with a baseline for the use of MP under the relevant command relationship.

In terms of physical infrastructure, formation C2 support manifests typically as a theatre detention facility (TDF), utilised by multiple formations as the final destination for the theatre’s prisoners of war and other select categories of retained and detained personnel. Whilst bespoke to the individual operation and subject to geographical factors, a typical TDF will be an established and hardened compound equipped with accommodation and amenities (sanitation and hygiene); segregated accommodation for soldiers, non-commissioned officers, and officers; and will generally resemble – with a healthy dose of pragmatism – a prison.

Taking up a large footprint on the ground (up to 500m by 500m) and being suitable to house up to 500 people, a TDF is guard force intensive, requiring no less than a platoon of guard force (all corps) with command elements (section command up to sub-unit command) being MP. The critical point here is that for a TDF to be successful, logistics and personnel are required to be drawn from areas other than the attached military policing element – lest the MP element rapidly become consumed by guard force responsibility.

The ratios of guards to captured persons (CPERS), pursuant to current doctrine and best practice, are 1 guard: 10 CPERS (static) and 2 guards: 1 CPERS (mobile). It is clear when these numbers are considered that a platoon of general duties soldiers drawn from the entire force is entirely more appropriate than limiting a platoon of MP to one task in a battlespace where other functions are both critical and personnel intensive.

In short:

1. At the formation C2 support level, the Provost Marshal supports the classification of CPERS drawn in during operations and the maintenance of good order and lawful conduct in support of the commander.

2. The TDF is staffed by no less than a platoon of guard force, drawn from across the tasked element or unit. They manage a static, geographically expansive facility, commanded from section to sub-unit or unit level by a MP chain of command.

Battlefield clearance support

The battlefield clearance team (BCT) is where the rubber hits the road for the majority of commanders and planners working tactically with MP support. As a fire team to section strength element, typically under the control of the Company Sergeant Major (CSM) or Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM), the MP element within the BCT is – with situational flexibility – broadly responsible for the first detailed search, sustainable restraint, and control of CPERS and their belongings from the captured personnel assembly point (CAPASSYPT). These CPERS are back loaded by the fighting element’s F Echelon logistics support (the organic, direct command logistics capability held by a fighting element) to the brigade maintenance area. From there, to an initial collection and processing centre (ICPC) where they will undergo secondary searching and initial medical, legal, and administrative processing. Finally transitioning to the control of the formation C2 support element.

It is of note that this process is coordinated by the MP section as a matter of tactical manoeuvre but is facilitated through the supported unit’s own internal logistics capability. Transfer to a TDF is a process which must be negotiated with higher command on a case-by-case basis due to the complexities associated with each individual operational context.

Whilst in the ICPC, CPERs will typically be held for no more than 72 hours. This number is inherently stability operations focused. However, if considered using the battle group rate of capture within LWP-G 0-1-7, it equates to a turnover of up to 360 personnel in a 24-hour cycle. This number is based upon three battle groups, in high tempo conventional operations taking 120 CPERS each on any day within which actions are conducted, assuming each battle group is not concurrently active.

In cases where a brigade is conducting formation level manoeuvre, consolidation of MP elements is a consideration for the management of a large quantity of CPERS. As with all matters pertaining to consideration, planning figures are a metric to work off, not a gospel to live by. Early consideration of previous engagement outcomes and CPERS numbers will provide an operationally contextualised indication of likely CPERS numbers and initial CPERS classification type.

Much like the TDF, an ICPC can be staffed exclusively by MPs, but the provision of a section to platoon of guard force will render the MPs capable of more broad contributions to the main effort through the dispersion of sections and the employment of commanders (section to platoon level) for the management of the ICPC.

In short:

1. At the battlefield clearance support level, a fire team to a section of MPs are responsible for the first detailed search and control of CPERS moving from a CAPASSYPT to an ICPC.

2. An ICPC is generally a platoon level task, ideally staffed by an all-corps guard force and commanded by an MP chain-of-command.

3. All movement of CPERS must be supported by the capturing element’s organic logistics support.

Close support

MPs in close support will typically manifest as a pair of MP dogs (MPDs) and handlers or a pair of general duties MP. In a close support context, these assets will typically mount in commander’s organic platforms and operate in accordance with the specific requirements for a given mission. A good rule of thumb for employing MP in close support is their retention with the platoon sergeant or CSM and their deployment forward to conduct initial CPERS management.

Basic triage and segregation of CPERS can occur at this point with a CAPASSYPT established for transition to the BCT MP section. In a static scenario, during the reorganisation, a pair of general duties MPs is capable, with initial support of the capturing element, to restrain and secure CPERS, controlling up to 20 static CPERS. MPDs may act as a force multiplier and expand this number, but this function is animal specific and must be negotiated with each handler to determine the capabilities of any given MPD.

Summary

This first article has addressed a very broad area of engagement for commanders and is by no means exhaustive. As outlined at the start, the best method of deconfliction is to engage early and broadly with local MP to ensure that such complicated matters as internment and detention operations are simplified early with SME input. With the Joint Military Police Unit retaining responsibility for domestic policing operations, commanders are encouraged to reach out to their local 1st Military Police Battalion sub-unit for more information.

The next article in this series will cover mobility and manoeuvre support operations and MP integration into battlefield circulation control.

Should you wish to read more on this topic, you can access LP 0.2.0 Internment and Detention (it currently remains titled and labelled as LWP-G 0-1-7 Internment and Detention). Another good source is LP 0.3.0 Employment of Military Police (it currently remains titled and labelled as LWD 0-1-3 Employment of Military Police) (DPN link only)