Entry Control Point/Vehicle Control Point Basics

Snap ECP / VCP

The purpose of the Snap Entry Control Point / Vehicle Control Point is to provide / enhance security for forces operating in a specific area by screening for discreet enemy movement and inhibiting the enemy’s ability to try to move unseen through an area.

When setting up a control point, one of the first considerations is how easy do you want to make it to pass through the area. By bottle necking the flow of traffic into a serpentine style barrier system, you’ll be able to control the movement of each individual piece moving in and out of the ECP / VCP.

Spike strips, sentry guns, mines, and crew served weapons paired with cover, concealment, and decoys can also be used to inhibit movement through the area. Emplacement of these defenses, however, will rely greatly on the equipment available to the operating unit.

The minimum set up for a ECP / VCP should be at least four Marine’s. One Marine, the leader of the group, should be designated to talk to anyone coming in and out of the control point. He’ll also be responsible for searching anyone moving through the point, checking ID’s, and searching any vehicles they may want to bring in.

SHOUT, SHOW, SHOVE, SHOOT

SHOUT- Give the universal hand and arm signal to stop with a verbal warning to anyone approaching the ECP / VCP that they need to stop to have an ID check conducted and to be searched. If they fail to comply-

SHOW- If the individual continues to approach, show them your weapon and your intent to use it.

SHOVE- If the individual is within range, use hand-to-hand techniques to stop their approach. If they are in a car, use spike strips or other means of immobilization to prevent their further approach.

SHOOT- When the individual simply refuses to be stopped, DEADLY FORCE IS AUTHORIZED.

IF A TARGET IS APPROACHING FASTER THAN A MARINE CAN RUN THROUGH THE ROE's, IT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A THREAT AND DESTROYED IMMEDIATELY.

Entry Control Point:

Working in a four man team, a Fireteam should break down into a Contact Team, and a Security Team. The security team should have heavy weapons on standby to neutralize any threat that moves into the Entry Control Point, while the Contact Team should simply be there to make verbal interactions with the individuals in question, search their person, and check their ID’s. The Contact Team consist of the Team Leader, who is responsible for checking ID’s, searching the people passing through the control point, and communicating with them as well. The other man from the Contact Team is the cover-man. His job is to simply keep a watchful eye on any people moving through the control point and make sure they do not attempt any actions that could be hazardous to anyone’s health.

KEY POINTS:

Security Element PROVIDES SECURITY WITH HEAVY WEAPONS
Team Leader CHECKS ID’s, SEARCHES PERSONNEL, COMMUNICATES
Cover-Man PROVIDES IMMEDIATE SECURITY FOR TEAM LEADER

Any individual trying to move through the Entry Control Point that is found with a faulty ID, weapons, or otherwise illegal paraphernalia or documents MUST BE DETAINED AT ONCE. If an attempt to use their weapons or cause harm to civilians or military personnel is made, DEADLY FORCE IS AUTHORIZED.

Vehicle Control Point:

Basically an Entry Control Point on a larger scale, the same concept applies; bottleneck and serpentine approaching traffic in order to slow their approach while providing security to the Contact Team.

The Contact Team should stop any vehicles that move into the VCP and immediately make communications with the vehicle operator. At the same time, the Cover Man should ask all other occupants to step out of the vehicle, and should move them to the front of the vehicle. Then, maintaining security, the Cover Man should continue to cover the Team Leader as he ID’s and searches each member of the vehicle.

ANY MEMBER OF THE VEHICLE FOUND WITH AN INVALID ID, WEAPONS, ILLEGAL DOCUMENTS OR PARAPERNALIA , SHOULD BE DETAINED AT ONCE.

Once personnel searches are complete, the Cover Man should move all vehicle occupants EXCEPT THE DRIVER to a safe location with the Security Team. Then, the Team Leader will take the driver around the vehicle, making the driver open any doors or compartments to be searched (this is in order to prevent hard to the Team Leader if the vehicle is booby trapped). If the vehicle has illegal weapons, documents, or paraphernalia aboard, all occupants should be arrested at once.

KEY POINTS:

Team Leader STOPS VEHICLE, COMMUNICATES WITH DRIVER
Cover Man GETS ALL OTHER VEHICLE OCCUPANTS OUT OF THE VEHICLE
Team Leader ID’s DRIVER, SEARCHES DRIVER AND OCCUPANTS
Cover Man LEADS ALL OTHER OCCUPANTS TO SAFE AREA
Team Leader TAKES DRIVER AROUND VEHICLES, SEARCHES VEHICLE
Security Team MAINTAINS SECURITY