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Crowd Control
International
Command Centre
by Wesley Bourke Photos Armn Neville Coughlan
T
Evidence Gathering
An Cosantóir Feb 2013 www.dfmagazine.ie
he Defence Forces has become globally renowned for running some
of the best international military courses; for example, CIMIC, command & staff, counter-IED, and military policing. Our MPs and their
international counterparts have vast domestic and international experience, and bringing such people together for a course pools all that knowledge and experience, thereby enhancing the benefits for the students.
Since the inception of the International MP Course some 190 students
from 43 countries have passed through the MP School's halls. This year the
ninth course had 21 students, and two foreign instructors, from 11 countries; including for the first time two students from the USA.
When MPs deploy overseas they generally operate on a multinational
level, either working in a multinational MP unit or co-operating with MPs
from other contingents.
"The thrust of this course is to enable MPs to operate in a multinational
environment with an EU, NATO/PfP, or UN mission," explained MP instructor, Lt Col John O'Loughlen. "The students who come on this course have
varied degrees of experience. Some with close protection experience may
have no experience of investigation. Others may just be responsible for
camp and base security back in their home countries. So it is a great opportunity for all of them to see how things operate in different situations.
Most importantly they will be able to hit the ground running overseas in a
multinational MP unit."
