Military Professional Resources Inc.

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MPRI is a private military contractor that provides a wide range of services to both public and private customers, most notably the United States Department of Defense. MPRI specializes in various professions such as law enforcement, security, military training, logistics, etc. By its own account MPRI operates in over 40 countries. The firm is based in Alexandria, Virginia.

A member of International Peace Operations Association (IPOA), MPRI was founded in 1987 by eight ex-officers of the United States Army. It was sold to L-3 Communications in June 2000 for $40 million. In 2004, MPRI bought Civilian Police International. The firm also serves as additional reinforcements in U.S. bases in Korea.

Contents 1 Management 2 Training 3 Simulation 4 Contracts 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Management

MPRI's President, retired General Carl E. Vuono, served as Army chief of staff during the Gulf War and the U.S. invasion of Panama. The Vice President of the firm, General Ronald H. Griffith is a former Army vice chief of staff. Other top executives include General Crosbie E. Saint, former commander of the U.S. Army in Europe; and Lt. General Harry E. Soyster, former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency. This concentration of experience makes MPRI and other firms like it quite influential. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell described General Vuono as "one of my dearest friends."^[1]

[edit] Training

MPRI recently used retired military, and current national guard or reservists, to run R.O.T.C. programs at more than 200 universities. They now have employees running Army recruitment centers across the country, and training U.S. soldiers. With major offices in other countries, employees also have trained foreign armies at ranges in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq, Kuwait, and South Africa. MPRI reassures their clients with services from teams of military leaders, law enforcement officers, strategic analysts, disaster management experts, and diplomatic and private sector leaders. Local forces in Croatia were referred to MPRI by The Pentagon and used their training. 120 African leaders and more than 5,500 African troops have been trained by MPRI on security issues. ^[2] General Vuono commanded and participated in a training center which produced the military doctrine AirLand Battle 2000. This doctrine was used in 1990 for Operation Desert Storm and in 1995 for Operation Storm. MPRI started training the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina for $140 million, after 1995 when the Dayton Accords had been established^[3]. In April 1995, Democracy Transition Assistance Program (DTAP) training began out of "Petar Zrinski" military school in Zagreb. ^[4]

[edit] Simulation

MPRI recently acquired GEDD (GE Driver Development) and Ship Analytics, two companies renowned for Driving Simulations products. Now, MPRI contracts to both local police forces and the U.S. Government. Among their products are the PatrolSim IV, FireSim, TranSim VS IV, and Mark III.

Traditionally, law enforcement agencies conduct driver training using EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operations Course) programs. These behind-the-wheel courses teach critical driving skills, such as steering and braking techniques. However, more and more agencies are turning to law enforcement driving simulators, such as the PatrolSim series by MPRI ^[5] as a way to enhance their existing programs.^[6] Professionals at the Rapter Lab at University of Central Florida’s Institute for Simulation and Training state that driving simulators are well-suited for teaching the cognitive skills required for decision making.

The PatrolSim series of simulators consists of a life-size driver’s seat with a seatbelt. The dashboard is a realistic mock-up of a Crown Victoria (the law enforcement vehicle of choice for most agencies), which also includes working signals, levers, gas and brake pedals, and ventilation systems. A conventional center console houses the lights and siren unit. The three-channel plasma screens offer 180° views of high-resolution graphics. Other features include force-loaded steering to provide real-time feedback of situations like tire blowouts and collision-avoidance. An After Action Review (AAR) is facilitated through analysis of recorded sessions and review of captured video. Instructors are given complete control of the exercise through the touch-screen operator console, SimCommander. MPRI includes scenario-building software with their simulators. This enables instructors to create custom targeted training scenarios allowing trainees to focus on weak skills.

There are several advantages of using driving simulators in law enforcement driver training. Simulators give the ability to create customized operator-controlled scenarios. This facilitates the ability to create consistent, repetitive scenarios to increase proficiency. Simulator operators are also able to include weather conditions such as rain, ice, snow and darkness that are not typically experienced in traditional EVOC training tracks. By practicing high-risk maneuvers in a simulator, there is less wear and tear on agency vehicles and increased safety in training. ^[7]

With advantages, come disadvantages as well. Non-motion simulators lack physical forces acting on the driver, such as G-force, yaw, pitch, roll, or braking force. The absence of these forces diminishes the physical reality of the scenario.

These disadvantages are outweighed by the advantages as demonstrated in the following cases: From 1998-2003, the Philadelphia Police Department saw police-involved collisions decrease by 23%. In one year, the San Antonio Police Department saw a decrease in intersection collisions decrease by 75%. The National Highway Transportation Safety Board states that one hour spent in the simulator is equal to eight hours on a driving track.

With the efficient use of vehicle and time resources, driving simulation has evolved into a viable option for law enforcement agencies. MPRI has positioned itself as a leader in the driver training simulation industry and is a company trusted by law enforcement agencies. This point is punctuated by the fact that the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), an interagency training organization for more than 80 federal agencies, as well as state, local and international law enforcement agencies, has purchased 43 PatrolSim driver training simulators from MPRI in the past two years. FLETC has 40 PatrolSim simulators installed at their state of the art training facility in Glynco, Georgia, and three installed at their Cheltenham, Maryland facility. ^[8] The rapid advancement of technologies provided by MPRI augments driver training programs used by these agencies.

[edit] Contracts

MPRI's parent company, L-3 Communications, had more than a dozen lobbyists working on its behalf, including Linda Daschle, wife of former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle. Last year L-3 won $1.7 billion in Defense Department contracts.

In the early 1990s, MPRI gained a 5-year contract with the U.S. State Department involving the shipment of donated medical supplies and food to former Soviet states.

1994 brought two contracts for MPRI. One, code named "Drina River Mission", with Serbia to block Bosnian and Krajina Serbs at their borders. The other dealing with the Democracy Transition Assistance Program (DTAP)

In 1998, the government of Equatorial Guinea asked MPRI to evaluate its defense systems, particularly its need for a coast guard to protect its oil reserves. In order to take the job, MPRI needed a license from the U.S. State Department. The Clinton administration rejected the request, citing the West African nation's deplorable human rights record of torturing and murdering political dissidents.

MPRI dispatched company officials to work the hallways of the Pentagon, State Department, and Capitol in order to obtain the licence. In 2000, the State Department did an about-face and issued a license to MPRI. MPRI refuses to reveal the terms of its contract with Equatorial Guinea.^[1]

In 1999 MPRI signed an 18 month, $4.3 million contract to work with military in Colombia on the drug war. The contract expired in March 2001 and was not renewed because the Colombian Defense Ministry and its officers were upset by recommendations such as "Hit the enemy with a closed fist; do not poke at him with fingers of an open hand." Note: This is a maxim of World War II German General Heinz Guderian. ^[9]

According to a recent United States Department of Defense census MPRI has at least 500 employees working in Iraq on 12 different contracts including mentoring civilian workers at the Iraqi Defense Ministry headed by Qadir Obeidi. ^[10]

In March 2005, MPRI was awarded a $400 million contract to train police in Iraq and elsewhere. Two months later, MPRI set up a company in Bermuda to which it then sub-contracted much of the work for the contract in order to avoid US social security and Medicare taxes. The company had earlier done the same thing in the Cayman Islands after sharing in the award of a $1.6 billion contract to train peacekeepers in Kosovo and elswewhere.^[11]

[edit] References

The book by John Ghanazvidian titled "Untapped: The Scramble for Africa's Oil" mentions MPRI's involvement with several African nations.

[edit] External links

• MPRI website
• Men for delicate missions (GERMAN) article from German newspaper Hamburger Abendblatt (10.16.2002)
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