For decades, police work at Camp Pendleton was largely the
purview of Marines assigned to the base's Provost Marshal
Office.
But pull up to one of the base's seven gates these days, and
there's a good chance you'll be met by a blue-uniformed federal
police officer.
That officer works for an emerging combined civilian and
military police agency headed by Marine Lt. Col. Richard Dobbins
and Deputy police Chief R. Barry Cronin, a civilian.
Dobbins and Cronin are in the forefront of a major
transformation taking place at all Marine Corps bases as the
service moves from an all-military police force to a combined
civilian and military agency.
The transition stems from the need for more military police in
Iraq and Afghanistan. Marine Corps brass determined that
transitioning to a mostly civilian police force at its bases would
free more Marine police officers for battlefield-related work.
"Commanders needed police-type capability to handle prisoners,
base and convoy security and detainee operations," said Cronin, a
Boston native and former Marine lieutenant colonel who joined the
Camp Pendleton force about a year ago. "They also needed people who
could engage the local population with a police rather than a
combat approach."
The Marine Corps conducted an experiment with the combined force
at two small logistics bases, including its facility in Barstow. It
decided the program was working and would be introduced at all its
bases.
Camp Pendleton began creating its combined force in 2007 and is
about halfway to its goal of 176 blue-uniformed officers and 120
Marine military police. The base also has a 15-member special
weapons and tactics team.
Carmen John parlayed his military police background with the
Marine Corps at the base in Twentynine Palms when he joined the
force a couple of years ago. He's a member of the SWAT team in
addition to having regular patrol duties.
"It's hard work and long hours, but it was a good chance to take
what I did in the service and make it a career," he said.
The combined forces work side by side.
"What they do is indistinguishable," Cronin said. "If a Camp
Pendleton resident calls 911, the responding officers could be
military, civilian or one of each."
Base police for all West Coast Marine installations undergo a
10-week training program at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station. The
program includes 365 hours of training and 77 different course
topics.
While one uniformed officer privately said integrating the two
forces hasn't been easy, Cronin puts a different spin on it.
"Integrating two different cultures into a single security force
operating under a single chain of command has created some
challenges, but we've been able to work through them and establish
a very effective way of operating," he said, declining to be more
specific.
The police provide security for about 40,000 Marines, 3,000 Navy
personnel, 3,500 civilian employees and an additional 1,750
contract workers at the 125,000-acre base. They also help protect
about 15,000 military dependents residing in 20 base housing areas,
and another 3,000 civilians working for non-Defense Department
organizations.
Their patrol territory is vast, including 17.5 miles of
shoreline, about 600 miles of paved and unpaved roads, more than
2,700 buildings and seven base gates.
The work is aided by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service,
which probes major felonies and property crimes and handles major
felony cases against troops that are prosecuted under the Uniform
Code of Military Justice.
Many members of the civilian police are retired from other
police agencies. Among them is Yanni Bakalas, who joined the force
in October after a career with the Police Department in Henderson,
Nev. He says the biggest distinction on Camp Pendleton versus the
streets of Henderson is the people.
"There is crime on base, but certainly not to the extent you
would see outside the gates," he said. "The other big difference
is, when you respond to a call in the civilian world, people will
often give you a lot of attitude, such as asking, 'What the hell
are we doing here?' We don't get that kind of attitude from the
people we encounter here."
For more information on the Camp Pendleton police force,
including how to apply for a job, log onto www.usmccle.com.
Call staff writer Mark Walker at 760-740-3529.
A welcoming home for our Troops.
