- BOWLING GREEN -- New arrivals are greeted by manned guard towers, razor-sharp
perimeter wire and a public address system preaching cooperation in two
languages.
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- That was the welcome given newcomers
to a simulated prisoner of war camp at Fort A.P. Hill yesterday.
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- The camp was one of four set up at the
Caroline County post as part of a large-scale military police exercise.
The exercise, Gold Sword IV, is intended to test military units charged
with running camps that handle prisoners of war, civilian internees and
refugees.
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- The four-day field exercise for 2,575
soldiers, mostly Army reservists, is directed by the 800th Military Police
Brigade, which oversaw about 70,000 Iraqi prisoners during the Persian
Gulf War.
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- At A.P. Hill yesterday, one fake camp
in Saudi Arabia accepted Iranian and Iraqi soldiers captured during a conflict
in northern Iran.
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- As some prisoners arrived aboard a truck,
they were welcomed by a voice intoning over a loud speaker, first in American,
then in Arabic, that basic needs would be met:
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- "Please cooperate with the guard.
Stay seated where you are placed until you're told to move. You will be
given water, food and shelter. Help us to speed you through the process."
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- Soldiers playing prisoners get frisked
and fingerprinted. One had to be wrestled to the ground. Another refused
to cooperate, prompting a supervisor to order, "Put her on her face,
put her on her face."
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- POWs get questioned about their medical
condition. They're issued a uniform, a picture identification card and
a toiletry bag.
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- In one tent, an Arabic-speaking Army
interrogator sat at a table with a cigarette-smoking prisoner, successfully
eliciting information about the man's unit, its equipment and location.
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- "You didn't see any rubber hoses
or wire in there," Lt. Col. Perry Hargrove, a military intelligence
officer, reminded reporters later.
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- Officers stressed that prisoners get
humane treatment in keeping with the international accord known as the
Geneva Convention. Such treatment gives American forces credibility, encouraging
the enemy to emerge from their trenches, cooperate with interrogators and
reciprocate when Americans are taken.
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- "We're in the people business,"
said Col. Joe Campano, deputy commander of the 800th Military Police Brigade,
said.
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- Prisoners and their guards alike are
served the standard-issue Meals Ready-to-Eat. Kosher or vegetarian fare
is available.
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- The exercise has drawn 68 Army Reserve,
National Guard and active duty units from every state, plus representatives
from several foreign countries.
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- The growing occurrence of humanitarian
efforts, like the Bosnia and Haiti missions, has demanded that training
focus on managing civilian refugees, said Lt. Col. David L. Parker, commander
of one of the camps.
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- "Now in the real world, refugees
are trying to get away from conflict zones. It's a potential scenario for
us to protect them," Parker said.
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- The 800th Military Police Brigade, based
in Uniondale, N.Y, spent nearly two years preparing for Gold Sword IV.
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