Health Considerations Related to Law Enforcement Duties in Military Operations

Abstract

Introduction: Nowadays, during several armed conflicts, such as The Russian-Ukrainian or the Israeli- Iranian war, the issue of prisoner of war (POW) care receives special attention.

In recent years, due to the current national security challenges, various fields involved in military operations have come into to the forefront. Based on lessons learned from the military decision-making process connected to high-intensity warfare, during given scenarios involving Military Police tasks we have to cope with the induced medical challenges, too. Prisoners of War management and its regulation are conducted with Military Police lead, utilizing Operational Order ANNEX PP which elaborates to Military Police tasks and responsibilities.

Objectives: My intention is to depict the special tasks emerging during different steps of Operational Planning Process, and to prove the absolute necessity of cooperation of involved fields, starting from the first phase of planning.

Methodology: This study analyses the doctrinal and ethical background of Prisoners of War provision, as well as the different fields’ task execution, such as Civil-Military Cooperation, legal affairs, Military Police or medical. The inquiry utilizes different qualitative research methods, like literature analysis, doctrinal sources among other things, and also utilizes Lessons Learned from multinational exercises.

Results: Based on information retrieved from analysis of Lessons Learned from planning processes, it can be stated that from the initial planning phase a collective approach and cooperative elaboration of supply plan must be implemented. Failing these effective cooperation is not feasible. The importance of Civil-Military Cooperation also has a significant impact on the scrutinized process. The study sheds light on the fact that supplying Prisoners of War is a complex task which requires close cooperation from different fields. During planning processes, a collective approach and developing a coordinated supply plan is paramount. However, in practice, lack of coordination and alignment is a common gap, which can jeopardize the efficiency of cooperation. Although all fields involved are focused mainly on their respective roles, all efforts are directed toward a common goal in order to enable the conduction of military operations and to achieve set objectives. Since Prisoners of War provision demands a wide array of military expertise, delegation of tasks, responsibilities and authority is necessary, eventually necessitating cross-functional cooperation between different fields, hence strengthening the professional linkage between them.

Conclusion: Nowadays, during several armed conflicts, such as the Russian-Ukrainian or the Israeli-Iranian war, the issue of prisoner of war care is given special attention. Recently we have had several opportunities to gain relevant experience regarding tasks related to Prisoners of War provision during exercises conducted in a multinational environment, based on which involved fields can take part in joint training events to practice and drill concerted execution.