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The host nation law enforcement personnel from Wiesbaden, Frankfurt, Special Weapons and Tactics units and other agencies toured the new Shalikashvili Mission Command Center and parking garage on Clay Kaserne and local housing areas to become better familiarized with the garrison’s new and old facilities.
“It’s important because we depend on each other for security,” said William Trabucco, USAG Wiesbaden’s deputy director of emergency services. “Neither one of us (U.S. military or host nation law enforcers) has enough people to do everything on our own, so it’s important to know how each other operates.”
Trabucco explained that in an emergency situation, quite often both German Police and the MPs arrive simultaneously — so knowing how to work together to coordinate response actions is crucial.
Ensuring the various elements of the host nation police forces become better familiar with the Wiesbaden military community is also important, because different agencies are called upon to respond depending on the situation.
“In special instances, such as a hostage situation, special operations from Frankfurt would respond,” said Erste Polizeihauptkommissar Thomas Fink, with the West Hessen Polizei. “But if we had a situation such as a sniper, we would be responsible.
“To be well prepared for all situations, we invited representatives from all of the organizations that serve this area,” Fink said. “There are also liaisons to German Intelligence who would determine if there is a greater threat.”
Longtime cooperation and close ties both on and off the job, are extremely valuable, Fink said.
“It’s very helpful to have years of close cooperation. That makes the work easier. It’s so important that we know each other both on and off the job.
“Americans are a part of Wiesbaden, and we are responsible for all of its citizens — we provide the same support and security measures,” said Fink. “If anyone has a problem, we ask that he or she talk to us. We want all Americans to know they are welcome here.” Future plans call for continued mounted patrols, increased traffic controls and greater joint operations, Fink said.
Fink stressed that this cooperative emphasis comes from the top down with Polizei Director Volker Pfeiffer, chief of the West Hessen Polizei, leading the effort.
The garrison’s deputy director of emergency operations also stressed the importance of community members not spreading unconfirmed rumors. Recent reports of an attempted kidnapping in the Kaiserslautern military community saw the spread of a false rumor that a child had been kidnapped in the Wiesbaden military community. He asked that Wiesbaden military community members stay informed through official channels such as Community Information Briefings, the Herald Union, AFN and other venues and not rely on word of mouth which is often inaccurate, if not outright wrong.
A force protection exercise scheduled to be held in August will further fine-tune the ability of host nation and U.S. military first responders to work together, he said.
“It will enhance our capabilities to respond to emergencies within the garrison,” Trabucco said. “They (host nation responders) have the ability to contribute augmentation to our security forces very quickly.
“People may not always be aware of them, but the Polizei and MPs are out there watching for their safety,” Trabucco added.