PRICE BARRACKS, Belize -- They are friends on the sidelines, but foes the instant they step directly in front of each other only 10-15 feet apart, staring eye to eye.
Under the watchful eyes of a U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation agent instructor and fellow students, partner nations soldiers and Marines receive the command to draw their weapons, point their muzzles -not down range- but at the person, who only a few moments ago, was sitting next to them in the classroom.
For Tradewinds 2010 in Belize, the FBI is adding to their total number (6000) of international law enforcement officers, which they train annually around the world.
Price Barracks is one of a multitude of FBI training sites furthering allied relationships with Caribbean Basin Partner Nations law enforcement soldiers and personnel, explained Michael Parmigiani, a supervisory special agent with the FBI.
“We elevate their heart rate and put them under realistic pressure in the simulations so they can take the lessons learned to the street,” said Sam Mullins, a supervisory special agent in the FBI, with the international training and assistance unit.
Simulation rounds in the magazine and one round in the chamber, the students have less than a second to react and shoot the enemy, or be eliminated themselves.
“In my head over and over I’m planning what I’m going to do once I draw that weapon,” said Marine Cpl. James Medley, a military policeman, Military Police Company A from Lexington, KY. “It’s mostly instinct once it actually happens, but I’m just hoping I don’t get shot.”
Two Marines, alongside soldiers from 15 Caribbean Partner Nations had the chance to receive training from multiple, experienced FBI agents during Tradewinds.
The agents, who specialize in various fields, bring decades of real-life experience to students who are participating in mock-drills using sim rounds. The projectiles may leave a mark on the flesh as the tiny, plastic projectiles fly at speeds reaching 400 feet per second, but they are the closest tools available used by the students to get a small dose of the pain associated with being hit with a real projectile.
“The pain is worse than a paintball, but way less than a real bullet,” said Medley. “These scenarios give us an idea of the physical and mental feelings that may translate to real life, but you never really know how it feels until you experience it in real life.”
Using sim rounds and handguns designed for the special bullets, the Marines with partner nation’s soldiers stood side by side, clearing rooms, doing action/reaction drills, and searching vehicles all in a single day’s work during the first week-long evolution as part of Tradewinds.
“It’s pretty sweet that we are getting trained by the FBI,” said Medley. “They travel all around the world to teach this training and I’m glad to be a part of it.”
Marine Cpl. Jason Hettmansperger, a military policeman from Co. A was one of the two Marines selected to train in the FBI led course. Due to limited space and student to instructor ratio, just a handful of Marines were chosen during the first week’s cycle of Tradewinds to participate in the FBI instructed class.
Training with partner nations has its pitfalls Hettsmansperger explained, but when he trains with other countries he is not solely learning the curriculum, but learning the cultures of fellow students.
“In the states, we have our own rules of engagements and laws that aren’t the same as the other countries,” said Hettmansperger, who is deploying alongside Medley with 40 other MP’s with Co. A late this summer. “We bring different cultures, backgrounds and lifestyles, but we all come together when we train with each other.”