6-4 Soldiers experience crime scene investigation

By 2ND LT. CHARLES MORGAN
6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment Unit Public Affairs Representative
Soldiers assigned to the 6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regi-ment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, conducted an in-depth four-day class specializing in crime scene investigation in Fort Polk, La.
During the training, 14 Soldiers mastered the necessary skills to successfully photograph and analyze a crime scene and dust for finger prints.
The training was part of the unit’s most recent month-long rotation at the Joint Readiness Training Center.
“The curriculum that they teach us, it’s easy to grasp with PowerPoint and practical exercises but it is important to remember to operate in a field expedient manner; get in, record the essentials, and get out,” said Sgt. Joshua Saucier.
The course, although full of detailed information and strict protocol, broke the date down to the Soldiers in segments; introducing them to procedures and equipment on day one, scenarios on day two, improving processing time on day three and both team and individual evaluations on day four.
“Even though it is a lot of technical information, it is presented in a simplified way to make sense of the procedures,” said Pvt. Gregory Pellizzeri.
Sgt. Frank Gomes of Apache Troop explained the contrast of battlefield forensics compared to forensics seen on television, is “Forensics that can be applied to a combat situation in a field expedient manner.”
“You have to get the task done as soon as possible, because if you don’t record the information or analyze the scene, the evidence you retrieve might not help; you may miss something essential. It is meticulous type of work. You have to get it fast and accurate… attention to detail,” Gomes added.
The forensic class taught the Soldiers many things when coming across a scene and collecting evidence to send back for analysis and contributed to future success of the Duke Brigade.

Photos by 2nd Lt. Charles Morgan

SGT. BRYCE ROGERS PHOTOGRAPHED A SOLDIER ROLE PLAYING as an Afghan during a scenario-based exercise at the Joint Readiness Training Center.

A FORENSIC INSTRUCTOR SHOWED SOLDIERS ASSIGNED to 6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team how to properly package evidence into a “MATERIAL” bag that will be sent back to a lab for analysis.

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PFC. TYLER POWELL AND SGT. JAMES SEAMAN BOTH ASSIGNED to 6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team collected fingerprints off a laminated surface during a scenario- based exercise at the Joint Readiness Training Center.