FBI Training versus Para-Militarism

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FBI Training versus Para-Militarism

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FBI Training versus Para-Militarism

Paramilitary training and FBI training are some of the most important trainings of the security of the state. Due to the related nature of the jobs done by FBI agents and those performed by the military, it is expected that the bodies in charge of training the agents and soldiers have similar training curricula. Both bodies are responsible for the security of the state and beyond. Trainings may include a number of similar features, but there are several differences in the approaches taken to induct the officers to serve the nation. This work dissects the perceived differences between the ways Federal Bureau of Investigation conduct their training against the quasi militarism otherwise known as Para-militarism.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a counterintelligence agency under the United States Department of Justice. The governmental agency serves as both internal intelligence agency and federal investigations body. T is the body vested with the responsibilities to investigate crimes against Native American reservations within the United States of America. This is a responsibility spelled out to the agency under the Major Crimes Act. It has jurisdiction to investigate more than two hundred categories of federal crimes. Due to the immense job and the sensitive nature of the duties the bureau handles, it is crucial that the agents get the best quality training available. The agency that has been in existence since 1908 has reputable investigative service delivery due to the rigorous training its agents go through.

Paramilitary education and training is the process that seeks to establish and enhance the capabilities of military staff in their roles. Paramilitary education and training can be optional or compulsory. Military personnel have an important task to maintain security of the state. Before being allowed to go through a military training, they must undergo a physical and health test. Military personnel must be healthy and physically capable of undertaking the corporeal tasks involved in their duties. The task of maintaining order in the world sometimes calls for more than mediation. Battles have come in handy in maintaining peace in several situations around the world. Military persons, therefore, should be fit enough to endure the tough conditions during warfare.

Training the military and FBI personnel need vigorous training and education to carry out their duties effectively. Whereas there are several similar characteristics in the nature of the duties carried out by FBI agents and those performed by military personnel, there are fundamental differences in the nature of the trainings the two factions of security obtain. Both the agents and military personnel would need training on physical fitness. Most crucial, they both need to learn to endure high levels of pain. In times of war, military staff are often captured and imprisoned as prisoners of war. They get tortured and tormented to reveal the highest secrets of their troops. Military staff is, therefore, trained to endure suffering even to the point of death to avoid risking the whole troop during wars.

As mentioned before, one needs to pass medical and physical fitness test before joining a military academy for training. Mental fitness is of essence given that the persons in the military operate technical equipment and dangerous weapons. In the event that a soldier is of questionable mental stability, the whole troop and the state could be in trouble in a battlefield or military barracks. Primary training ground for military officers is the recruit training. This primary stage of training a military officer offers to teach fundamental information and training of techniques the officer needs to be an efficient member of the service. The process involves drilling the recruits physically, psychologically and technically. Drill instructor must ensure that the recruits become fit for military services.

The initial step of military and FBI training is the recruit stage. In this stage, there is no specialization of the field one would like to serve. The stage can be voluntary or mandatory depending on the country. United States has voluntary military service. In the United States system, an individual opts to join the training and becomes part of an organization where one person’s life is dependent on the person next to them. This voluntary joining of the military has altered the culture of military service. Recruit training at a point becomes oriented towards a particular service of states services. Marine and army recruits are often trained in fundamental marksmanship with weapons assigned to each individual. In addition, the training involves teaching the recruits on how to maintain weapons while in the battle fields. Physical fitness becomes one of the most essential parts of the training. It takes a larger portion of the recruit training. Other techniques learnt at this stage are basic first aid and survival techniques (Chermak 2009, 89). Every military and FBI agent must have life saving knowledge. The task of defending lives involves risking lives. Accidents and injuries in the line of duty are bound to occur any time and assistance on such occasions should be offered by any of the military personnel or agents.

Coast guard and Navy training focuses on survival in water training. Basic seamanship and physical fitness are other essential techniques the navy personnel need to know. In addition, seaboard firefighting is a basic knowledge all marine fighters must possess. Furthermore, primary training involves basic engineering and signal processing and interpretation.

Air force training involves military training and classroom instructions. This arm of defense requires individuals of high understanding and with capacity to figure out solutions fast. Physical training is a mandatory process of the air force. Furthermore, basic marksmanship field training and first aid are part of air force training (Feldmann 2001, 81).

Training in military fields requires a high level of discipline. On reporting to the training fields, all recruits have their hair cut. The recruits get uniform from their field officers. Short hair and uniform improve the grooming of the recruits as well as provide the uniformity that the training exercise requires. The recruits then get service numbers. Para-military training involves recruits from divergent cultures and backgrounds. As such, the training procedure and curriculum needs to put into consideration the various cultures and respect all the recruits’ practices. Basic national training of these recruits includes provision of basic needs. These include food, shelter and clothing. All trainees, therefore, have the comfortable atmosphere to effectively complete their training and be useful members of the service. Such basic provisions are in limited rations, and the recruits are taught on how to be economical with their shares. This is in preparation for the battlefield life where the officers will have to survive on limited resources for a long period of time.

Recruit training at a point becomes oriented towards a particular service of states services. Marine and army recruits are often trained in fundamental marksmanship with weapons assigned to each individual. In addition, the training involves teaching the recruits on how to maintain weapons while in the battle fields. Physical fitness becomes one of the most essential parts of the training. It takes a larger portion of the recruit training. Other techniques learnt at this stage are basic first aid and survival techniques. Every military and FBI agent must have life saving knowledge. The task of defending lives involves risking lives. Accidents and injuries in the line of duty are bound to occur any time and assistance on such occasions should be offered by any of the military personnel or agents.

Due to changes in war tactics, basic training for the recruits has also changed. Infantry units do not attack in masses anymore. Formations are trained to be more tactful and practical than before while moving around a base. Present training involves having a combat soldier at the base to call in artillery or air strikes. Today’s recruits require more intelligent and critical thinking than ever before. During the drill, military personnel are instructed to respond to orders to stand and march (Chermak 2009, 39). Drilling the recruits aids I enhancing their ability to respond to orders and commands. They also help the military staff to react unhesitatingly during a real combat.

Federal Bureau of Investigations training exhibits a little different form of training of its agents. Whereas both trainings involve physical fitness training, the FBI fitness training is more comprehensive and objective than paramilitary training. Many military personnel leave the army, navy and air force today to join the federal agency. In addition to the basic physical fitness plan in paramilitary training, there are prints, shuttle runs, prints and weight lifting tests in FBI training. FBI academies have all-inclusive module for ensuring physical fitness of its agents.

Performing the maximum number of sit-ups in a limited time is one fitness goal of FBI training. The goal of every FBI recruit is to do 60 sit-ups in 60 seconds. Doing 1 sit-up per second helps an FBI recruit to stretch hip flexors. In order to flex one’s hips even further, an FBI agent does squat jumps and thigh stretch at a standing posture. The chief difference between these kinds of training from paramilitary training is that it lays emphases on quality of the training rather than the quantity of one’s training. The agents also do a timed print of 300m. The reason for this is that FBI agents react to situations that are rather urgent and fatal than military personnel.

Training Division of FBI has its goals focused towards inspiring agents through excellent training. It labors to develop credible education and training in the criminal justice community. The Training Division manages the FBI Academy (Birzer 2003, 49). The academy is undisputedly one of the most revered law enforcement training grounds. The Training Division is entrusted with the task to train Professional staff of the agency as well as the special agents of FBI. It also trains international, federal and state law enforcement personnel.

Training the FBI agents is divided into several factions. There are training programs for Intelligence Analysts, In-Service trainees, New Agents and specialized training for the Professional Staff Personnel and New Agents. The federal training institute also offers training to the police department. This is unlike the paramilitary training that offers training only to the navy, army and air force. Trainings offer an eleven week period for training law enforcement managers with multidisciplinary programs (Kraska 1997, 51).

FBI training division is responsible for delivery, development and promotion of customized training. In addition, the division is responsible for the maintenance of integrity and standardizing the training initiatives. Whereas formal education and professional background of a recruit is not important in considering military recruits, FBI training is a little different. Although formal educational requirements are not mandatory to train as an FBI agent, it is an added advantage for aspiring agents. The Training Division lays emphases on a number of professional fields. These include business, Information Technology, Engineering, Human Resource Management, Law Enforcement, Computer Science, Behavioral Science and Automotive Mechanics. Such professional qualifications are essential due to the nature of the agents’ jobs. It is paramount that one goes in as an undercover agent to investigate a case he understands its scenario and professional complications (Birzer 2003, 40).

In order to have effective agents of FBI, the Training Division of the agency puts a lot of emphases on training its agents on behavioral sciences. This is contrary to the paramilitary training that emphasizes the need to have physically fit and enduring soldiers. The need to be physically fit and enduring is not overlooked in the selection of FBI agents, but it comes second to the need to be smart and judge people by their behaviors. FBI Training Division, therefore, has in place a unit that impacts this much needed skill on its agents; Behavioral Analysis Unit. It is a component of the National Center for Analysis of Violent Crime. The department uses behavioral science in analysis of criminal investigations. The unit assists agents know how to determine evidence on certain crimes based on behavioral analysis of involved parties. The means mostly helps in solving time-sensitive issues and crimes, for example, crimes involving threats of violence and attacks.

Solving criminal escapades by BAU involves a method known as psychological profiling. Paramilitary training vests interest in solving crises using weapons rather than using brains. This does not mean the military is exempted from thinking. In fact, due to changes in war tactics, basic training for the recruits has also changed. Infantry units do not attack in masses anymore. Formations are trained to be more tactful and practical than before while moving around a base. Present training involves having a combat soldier at the base to call in artillery or air strikes. Today’s recruits require more intelligent and critical thinking than ever before. The major difference here is that although both cases involve use of tact, FBI uses weapons as the last resort while the military trains its recruits to use weapons as the first resort. Other means such as mediation come in after war.

In essence, paramilitary training and FBI training have a lot of similarities. The jurisdictions of both bodies possess close resemblance in nature. Training the two bodies, therefore, take the same track in the initial stages of training. Physical fitness is one of the features that the two law enforcement bodies share massively. However, it is evident from the discussion that whereas paramilitary training lays emphases on the amount of physical work, the FBI Training Division puts weight on the quality of the physical fitness. The chief difference between the two scenarios is the fact that paramilitary studies and training insists on the need to resolve disputes using force, while FBI Training Division teaches its agents to use behavioral science to gather information regarding a crime. Force is the last resort for FBI agents.

References

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domestic far right. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 36(12), 1305-1322.

Retrieved from http://cjb.sagepub.com/content/36/12/1305.shortKraska, P. B., & Cubellis, L. J. (1997). Militarizing Mayberry and beyond: Making sense of

American paramilitary policing. Justice Quarterly, 14(4), 607-629.

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http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J173v01n01_02#.UcdmNdj-1dgConti, N., & Nolan III, J. J. (2005). Policing the platonic cave: Ethics and efficacy in police

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Retrieved from

http://ww.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10439460500071705#.UcdmO9j-1dg

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