Taking training to a new level

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Cody Ramirez
  • 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
She pitches her sharpened words at him without care. He fights back, but not with words. He returns a fist for every hurtful statement thrown his way. Crimes like this happen, whether the caliber of the situation is similar to the example, or just a verbal disagreement, preparing for these situations requires experience.

Leaders from the 509th Security Forces Squadron and 509th Staff Judge Advocate office created a training exercise to take attorneys and law enforcement patrolmen from the initial crime to the court room. It showed each side how the other approaches the same situation.

More than 20 members from the legal office and SFS, a team of attorneys and two teams of law enforcement personnel, took part in the investigation to litigation training. The training began May 10, at the mock crime scene, and escalated to a trial May 13.

The victim and subject, or "newlyweds," acted out a situation at an empty on-base house for the initial crime.

"In the scene, the subject comes into the house, he's been drinking and his wife smells it on his breath," Capt. Brian Gallagher, 509th SJA, chief of military justice. "At the end of the scene, he grabs her throat and slams her against the wall."

The husband fled the scene while under the influence creating a second crime. Witnesses were placed at each crime scene prior to each scenario with no preconceived notions of what was about to happen.

"The witnesses reported what they saw and heard," Captain Gallagher said. "If they only heard a scream or didn't remember what they saw, well ... that's life. That's the way it really happens.

"The goal of it all was to have as much realism as we can," he said.
The captain said the scenarios were acted out so the victim and witnesses could answer investigation questions with something that actually happened, and for the teams to see first-hand.

The teams took charge of the crimes from there. They judged what the next choice of actions should be and acted on them.

"All too often, when it comes to cases, the attorneys look at the crime from a prosecutorial aspect and law enforcement patrolmen look at it from the investigation portion," he said. "It would be much more beneficial if each side knew more on what the other did."

Each team found the training to be insightful.

"This exercise far exceeded my expectations," said Capt. Kevin G. Normile, 509th JA, who acted as a prosecutor. "We learned a great deal about how we need to coordinate with security forces."

The mock trial was cut short as much as possible while still reflecting a real-life situation. Captain Normile said that the SF members involved were interviewed and a majority took the stand for direct and cross-examination.

"It showed us, as security forces, what we can do to better benefit the legal team's case, as far as processing goes," said Tech. Sgt. Jonathon M. Huber, 509th SFS, law enforcement area supervisor. "The training was very challenging, but rewarding in the amount we learned."

A lot of minds helped forge this training experience and it truly tested the ability of the law enforcement and the legal office members, Captain Gallagher said.

The case lasted all week. The first day, Monday, was when the crime took place. Tuesday, those involved wrote their reports and created the investigation. Wednesday, the attorneys received the case in the morning and had that day to prepare their case. Thursday was litigation or the trial. Friday was lined with briefings and overview as to how the training went.

The training helped prepare the legal and law enforcement offices for future situations.

"We want our law enforcement guys to be the best that they can be and our attorneys to be the sharpest they can be," Captain Gallagher said. "Sometimes you have to create situations to test their abilities and that's what we did with this.

"Our hopes are for a better product. Better investigation. Better prosecution," he continued. "We just want to refine our skills. The more you work with someone, the more experience you have with a team, the better the work ends up being."

A strong team leads to a successful prosecution. At the end of the day, justice is served and her bruises will heal.