police functions during all stability operations. These tasks require a high level of skill
and robustness as they include public order management tasks such as riot control, the
enforcement of curfews and checkpoints, and the general protection of the population
against armed gangs. Formed units of para-military police, such as the French
Gendarmerie or Italian Carabinieri, are normally better suited for this role than
conventional military forces because the former are trained to deal with public
order issues and the application of force.” (Wither and Schroeter, p. 3)
- “Perhaps MP teams should have gone along with the infantry during the initial
process of clearing the cities, then stayed behind to maintain law and order, says
Sergeant Major Banks of the 7th MPs. ‘In a low-intensity conflict, you need more MPs
than you do infantry, because the MPs can fight as infantry, then they can stay on to
reconstruct.’ In Operation Just Cause, ‘There just weren’t enough MPs,’ he says. ‘They
were just scattered to the wind,’ especially in the more populous western region of
Panama.” (Donnelly et al, p. 376)
Sources:
1. Primary reference: “Lessons Learned from U.S. Government Law Enforcement in
International Operations,” by Dilshika Jayamaha et al, PKSOI, December 2010.
2. Other references:
“Panama, 1988-1990: The Disconnect between Combat and Stability
Operations,” by Lawrence Yates, Ph.D., in Military Review, May-June 2005
“Operations ‘Just Cause’ and ‘Promote Liberty’: The Implications of Military
Operations Other Than War,” by Major William J. Conley, Jr., USMC Command
and Staff College, 1 April 2001
“Police Primacy: The Challenges of Developing Host Nation Police Capacity on
Stability Operations,” by James Wither and Thilo Schroeter, the George C. Marshall
European Center for Security Studies, May 2012
“Operation Just Cause: The Storming of Panama,” by Thomas Donnelly et al,
Lexington Books, 1991
Panamanian citizen with Just Cause banner.
U.S. Army Soldiers / M-113 in Panama City.
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