Polizei cadets visit KMC military police

***image1***German Polizei Cadets from the Polizei Academy in the state of Hessen,
Germany, visited the 569th U.S. Forces Police Squadron and U.S. Army
Garrison, Kaiserslautern Provost Marshal Office in December at the
Security Forces and Military Police Station on Vogelweh.

Dr.
Birgit Meyer, an instructor for culture and language, brought the
cadets so they could gain practical experience in communicating in
English and gain a better understanding of the role of military and
security
police and how they can better interact once they graduate.

The
day began when the cadets arrived and received a brief from Air Force
Zivil Polizist Markus Rebmann, USFPS ZP trainer.  Mr. Rebmann, one
of the many German nationals working in the USFPS, briefed, in English,
the history of U.S. military law enforcement in Europe including the
applicability of the Status of Forces Agreement and the Uniform Code of
Military Justice as well as some other nuances of typical polizei to
military police interactions.     

“It’s
important for them to know what types of information to look for when
dealing with (servicemembers) off base,” said Mr. Rebmann.

Later
that day, Air Force Master Sgt. Daniel Paine, 569th USFPS operations
NCO in charge, took one group of the cadets for a tour of the
facilities while Army Staff Sgt. Kenneth Barto, USAGK desk sergeant,
took another group to the Air Force and Army patrol vehicles and access
control points.

“Besides learning some English and U.S.
procedures, I hope they took home a positive attitude about German and
American relations,” said Sergeant Paine.

The groups then
switched and were able to see equipment including alcohol testing
devices, weapons, holding cells, patrol vehicle and communications
equipment and various access control devices.

Sergeant Barto
said he hopes this can continue with future Polizei Academy classes and
perhaps it could lead to more sharing of ideas and techniques.

The
day ended with both the U.S. forces police and German cadets having
gained a better understanding and willingness to work with each other,
said Dr. Meyer.

“For some polizei, their first interaction with
Americans may come as they are arresting one,” she said. “For some of
these cadets, it was their first interaction with any Americans and, in
this case, it was a very positive one.”