Guardsmen practice crowd control techniques

Soldiers of the 1137th Military Police Company in Jackson and Kennett form an angled line during training in crowd control techniques.

Jackson and Kennett, Mo. -- One of the basic warrior tasks and missions for military police in the Missouri National Guard is crowd control techniques. Soldiers of the 1137th Military Police Company in Jackson and Kennett recently spent a weekend honing their individual and squad level skills with these techniques.

"We're focusing on a small element of Soldiers, like a squad or platoon, to get the bigger picture," said Staff Sgt. Brain Hon, of Waynesville. "If you understand what to do at a squad level, you can understand and be prepared at the company or multiple companies' level."

The focus of the Soldiers' training is to learn how to influence the behavior and activities of a potentially hostile crowd and how to bring a mob engaged in riot under control. All of this is done using non-lethal weapons, such as military police batons and shields as well as verbal communication.

"It's important to be able to tell the difference between the various types of crowds," said Spc. Chad Adams, of Kennett. "You have to read their body language and pay attention to why their gathering and what they want."

Carrying military police shields and standing shoulder to shoulder, the Soldiers form a solid line. Behind this wall of protection, squad and platoon leaders form a second line and shout out commands.

With each left step the Soldiers hit their shields and shout. This keeps every one together and helps create a show of force.

The Soldiers practiced moving forwards and backwards in a single rank and creating an angled rank.

In the United States only a governor can define if a situation has become riotous and deploy these Guardsmen in response. It has been a long time since Soldiers of the 1137th Military Police Company have used these techniques in real-life missions, but they know the importance of remaining vigilant in their training to be ready at home or overseas.

"You never know when a situation will occur and we'll need it," said Sgt. Brandon Hopper, of Poplar Bluff. "It's good for us to have this type of training if not more."

For more information about the Missouri National Guard, please call 1-800-GoGuard or visit www.moguard.com.

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For more information about this advisory, please contact Michelle Queiser at 573.339.6264 or e-mail Michelle Queiser at ngmo.pao@us.army.mil.