by Spc. J. Myles Kendrick

CAMP MONTEITH, Kosovo (Army News Service, Aug. 25, 1999) - As
the gunner in a turret of the military police vehicle spotted
smoke billowing from a house more than a mile away, he shouted
directions to the driver, who hit the blue lights and expertly
maneuvered the armored Humvee down a maze of narrow alleys.
The soldiers were the first on the scene.
A vacant Serb house had nearly burned to the ground when the MPs
arrived, but the flames spread to an Albanian family's house
next door. The MPs reported the fire to the Gnjilane Fire
Department and rushed into the house.
An Albanian on the second floor was fighting the fire by
spraying it with water from a garden hose. The man refused to
leave, so the MPs grabbed him and pulled him out.
When the fire department arrived, the soldiers established a
perimeter.
"We saved that house," said Pfc. Richard South, 3rd Platoon, 1st
MP Company. "It's a good feeling helping out the civilians. The
man didn't want to leave his house, so I had to fight through
the smoke to get him out."
"In this theatre, MP stands for multi-purpose," said Staff Sgt.
Frederick Peel, squad leader, 3rd Platoon, 1st MP Co. "Right now
the military represents the only police force in Kosovo. In the
future, an international police force will be transitioned in,
but until then, there won't be a lack of missions for the
military police."
"One minute we have to respond to a house fire, the next we may
respond to reports of gunfire," he said. "We do everything
here."
According to South, the MPs begin their shift by going to their
tactical operations center for a report on what has happened in
the past 24 hours, and to learn if they need to report anywhere
immediately.
"It's normally an intense schedule," South said. "Some days are
more hectic than others, but it makes the days go by more
quickly. I really enjoy the work."
 "We usually report to a house fire in a village first," South
said. "We make sure no one is in the house, establish a
perimeter and secure the area. After that, there is usually a
report of guns in a house."
"Most of the time, the civilians give up the guns with no
problem. After it gets dark, we usually detain curfew violators
and investigate reports of gunfire or anything out of the
ordinary," he said.
The squad was caught between Albanian and Serb gunfire during a
patrol the first week they arrived in Kosovo, according to
South.
"It got pretty hairy, but it was over really fast," said Pfc.
Marty Stone, an MP with the 1st MP Company. "We just hunkered
down in the armored vehicle and let the snipers take care of the
situation."
According to Stone, the soldiers are respected for minimizing
the hostilities between the Serbs and Albanian.
The MPs said they enjoy the foot patrols because they can get
out of their vehicles and talk to the local civilians to see
where troubled sections of towns are.
"The children all wave, give peace signs and chant 'NATO.' We've
gotten a good reception from the local population," South said.
One challenge the Kosovo Force has identified is getting
children to stop stepping toward moving vehicles.
"They're always running after the vehicles or trying to slap
soldiers' hands. It's just a matter of time until one of the
children steps out in front of a vehicle. Our drivers just have
to be extra attentive," Peel said.
"We are slowly establishing a more stable environment as time
passes," Peel said. "The anger is subsiding and people are
starting to rebuild. On patrol, you see a lot of stores
completely stocked. They're rebuilding houses, the economy is
improving and they have more jobs and work."
(Editor's note: Spc. J. Myles Kendrick is a staff member of Task
Force Falcon PAO.)