A clash of doctrine: VBSS in the western Indian Ocean

ByPettyOfficer2ndClass

CameronEdy U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S Sixth Fleet

WithintheBandariMaritimeAcademyof Mombasa, Kenya, participants in exercise CutlassExpress2023,hailingfromDjibouti, Georgia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique,Seychelles,UnitedKingdom, and the United States, gathered to address a common challenge Visit, Board, Search andSeizure

Thegameisinthename operatorsvisit suspectvessels;boardthem,sometimeswith crewsbrandishingguns;searchthem lookingforsmuggledgoodsorpeople;andseize them,returningsuspectstopoliceforcesfor furtherevidencecollection

Often,whenmilitarieslookathowtotrain VBSS capabilities, they focus on the VB ‘how do we best arm and train our people to board non-compliant vessels.’ It’s a lot of gun,boat,hand-to-hand,androomclearing training and aligns with the foundations of theirmilitarytraining What’smoredifficult isthecriminalinvestigationpiece,ortheSS in VBSS Militaries, and navy’s especially, aren’tgreatatcivilian-stylelawenforcement they’renottrainedforit,they’renotpracticed in it, and it’s not a part of the mission set Exceptwhenitis

“It’s a clash of doctrine,” said Felipe Ramos an International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) criminal intelligence officer “In the navy you clear the scene,soyougoeverywhere,yousearchthe whole vessel. In crime scene preservation, wesay‘touchtheminimumyoucan.’Ourjob as instructors, and their job as military first responders, is to reach a balance between what is doable and be realistic about what you can do But it can be hard to find that balance because the training many navies receive is military training It’s about stoppingthethreatandtakingcontrolofthesituation. For law enforcement, it’s more about minimizing the threat, and minimizing the damagetothescene.”

RamosisaformercaptainofRiodeJaneiro’s state police department, and currently works as part of INTERPOL’s Project Compass an International Narcotics and LawEnforcementAffairsfunded collaborativeprojectthatlinksregionalgovernments and international organizations in combating illicit maritime activity In his role, he’s seenwhathappenswhenthebalanceshifts awayfromlawenforcement.

“[For some crimes] like trafficking in human beings, or international drug trafficking, the national navies are often the first responders They are the police officers especially when the country doesn’t have a coast guard,” Ramos said. “But without the necessary skills to handle evidence and interview witnesses, a lot of evidence can be lost Then, if it becomes an investigation afterwards, and eventually a case to be tried, it’s hard to convict if the evidence wasn’tmeticulouslyhandledfromthestart Sotheideahereistokeepthatlaw-enforcement perspective when they are intervening.”

That’s the challenge most navies face the balance between military and law enforcement perspectives in an intervention. What’s interesting about this year’s VBSS training is how the law enforcement perspectiveisbakedintoeveryengagement

TheVBSSportionofCutlassExpress2023 comprisesmultiplescenarios,executedwith nuance The Georgian and the U.K. Royal Navy gave academic training on the techniques tools and trade skills they use to board a vessel while the U.S. Coast Guard briefed participants on how to operate a MaritimeOperationsCenter.Onemoment, theRoyalNavyinstructorwouldbegivinga detailedexplanationonhowtorespectfully search a female suspect, and in the next, go over how to search a bandaged suspect by offering them clean wrappings applied by a medical professional. More often-thannot, the academic floor is yielded to the participants, where service members from Comoros, Djibouti, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius,andMozambiquediscussthereal world situations they’ve experienced, and howthey’veresponded

Then the classroom is vacated, and the teams split into different groups to tackle challenge areas Some go to what’s colloquially called the Ship in a Box, a simulated vessel,whereTunisianmarinecommandos teach room clearing techniques and climbing procedures for boarding a non-compliant vessel Some will go to the pool, where U.S. Marines take them through an intensive survival swim course, culminating in a grappling-hook ladder climb and swiftly followedbya15-footjumpbackintothepool infulluniform.OtherswillgotoINTERPOL’s course, where Ramos along with the Project Compass team and an instructor from the U.S. Navy’s Naval Criminal Investigative Service, provide hands-on training of first response, technical crime-scene management,andinvestigationmentorship

They also introduce training on INTERPOL’s resources methodologies and intelligence analysis to expand the operation from actors at-sea to organizers and financiersonland This first group should come out of this trainingwiththenecessaryskillstorespond withtheconsiderationthatthey’reresponding to a crime scene,” Ramos emphasized. “They won’t be crime scene experts, but they’ll have the skills to process a crime scene and preserve as much as possible as firstresponders.”

That’s the first week of INTERPOL’s training Thesecondpullsselectcandidates from each course, and gives them a breakneck, in-depth instruction on crime-scene management, witness interviewing, and utilizing modern and international investigative standards to preserve and document a crime scene Essentially, these service members will be the first line of defense, and the test case for the validity of crime scene management in the region’s military services.

“Theendgoalistheincorporationofthese techniques in basic curriculum,” Ramos emphasized “Use this as a pilot to bring thesametrainingto,andintegrateitwithin, the standing military curriculum. Everyone getting training in these navies should have a basic module in crime scene preservation.Otherwise it’sjustsomeonecoming intellingthemtodosomething Butthere’sa differencebetweenthat,andinvitingacrime scene investigation unit in their own police force to deliver a training We’ve had great successwhenweseethat.”

But the knowledge wasn’t a one-way street - a Mauritius Coast Guardsmen, specializing in boarding and noncompliant suspect evolutions beamed when talking about the different ways he could prove drugs are in a barrel of gasoline his favorite is rolling it and listening for clanks or sloshes A Georgian Coast Guardsman and a Mozambique Navy sailor discussed the differences in boarding techniques on differentstylesofboatsthroughatranslator speakingEnglishandPortugueserespectively and both their second languages Across the room, a U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Operations Center instructor listened to a translator, as a French-speaking Madagascar Navy sailor broke down the practicalities of operating in East African waters the Coast Guardsmen empathized, and gave equally practical advice on how he’d tackledthoseissuesinhisownbranch AU.S. NavycorpsmanandGeorgianmedicdebated the tactics of retrieving a wounded service member during a firefight, both agreeing it dependedonthesituation

That corpsman was attached to U.S. Marines from Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team, Central Command (FASTCENT).

The lead for that team, Capt. Tyler Carpenter, was an integral piece to the success of this year’s VBSS training His Marines offered insight, but didn’t dominate the field whenitcametoamphibiouswarfare they’reexperts andtaughtaccordingly But they deferred to Tunisia special forces on room clearing, to INTERPOL on crime scene management, and to the Royal Navy onmodernpracticesinsearchingandapprehending suspects for detainment. Equally important, when one of the participants spoke about the real-world engagements theyexperienced,theylistenedandlearned.

“It’s really a forum to discuss VBSS and to learn from another,” Carpenter said.

“This is an incredibly unique opportunity on the table All of the organizations and national militaries in that room (gesturing to the conference center, where the bulk of discussion was taking place) it’s incredibly rare that we get to be in the same place at the same time. It’s a unique opportunity to exchange real-world experience on a very expansive level, across government, non-government,regionalandinternational organizations.”

The lessons were practical, but the trust was built behind-the-scenes. On the first day, while a Tunisian marine commando strappedaharnessacrossaDjiboutianNavy sailor, another Djiboutian started arguing with a Kenyan Army ranger It was friendly theFrench-speakingDjiboutianwaschallenging the English-speaking Kenyan to a pushupcontest Hisfriendsegginghimon, theDjiboutiandropped SodidtheKenyan, toothpick still in his mouth, first onto his knuckles, and then flat-palmed. Their pace wasfrantic,andsoonacrowdofDjiboutian, Tunisian, and Kenyan service members, alongside a smattering of U.S. Marines, stopped, watched and cheered at the two. TheKenyanbeathim thebatteredDjiboutian needled his friend into it, and after another loss, they started gesturing at the U.S. Marine. With a laughing shake of his head,heshutitdown.

Hoursearlierandonlyafew100feetaway, Mauritius Coast Guard Police Constable Elise Pascal, a boarding party member for noncompliantandopposedboarding,looked around,reflectingonthespectacleofitall.

“For me, it’s meeting everyone that has enhanced this experience, Pascal said. “All the knowledge sharing, and learning about the difficulties others face, what we can upgrade in our own search and interventions, from both a safety and legal aspect it’sauniqueexperience.”

Theend-goalistocreateastandardinthe region whether you’re a Mauritius Coast Guardsman, or a Djiboutian Navy Sailor you board with the same expert precision, preserve the crime scene meticulously, and turnovertheevidenceandsuspectssuccessfullyforfurtherprosecution.Butthere’salso anulteriormotive twoactually.Thisexercise, and the VBSS portion isn’t about small scale education It’s about bringing people together,andtrainingthetrainers

“I have nearly 30 years of service but at very different stations mostly ships or the land and beach police force VBSS at the level that he does it, is rare for me,” said Mauritius Navy Corp. Ramdhun Dharamraj, gesturing across the table to Pascal. “At thepostlevel,it’srare,butwhatI’mgaining here,Iwillsharewithmyfriendsbackhome, withthepeopleIworkwith Iamenhancing my experience after this, I’m going to all the younger ones and we’ll do the same as I learned here Apply the same lessons, and learnfromittobebetteroverall.”

Ramos, sleep soundly The exercise or atleasttheVBSSportion wasasuccess