The 89th Military Police Brigade is a

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear rec ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. B ...

of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

based at

Fort Hood Fort Hood is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. Named after Confederate General John Bell Hood, it is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about from each, within the U.S. state of Texas. The post is the headquarter ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. It is a subordinate unit of

III Armored Corps III Corps or III Armored Corps is a corps of the United States Army headquartered at Fort Hood, Texas. It is a major formation of the United States Army Forces Command. Activated in World War I in France, III Corps oversaw US Army divisions a ...

. Activated in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

in the midst of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

, the unit provided military police services for two corp-sized forces operating in the region. It played a supporting role throughout the entire conflict, staying in

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

for the entire war and earning fifteen

campaign streamer Campaign streamers are decorations attached to military flags to recognize particular achievements or events of a military unit or service. Attached to the headpiece of the assigned flag, the streamer often is an inscribed ribbon with the na ...

s. Since then, the brigade has seen duty in numerous areas of operation throughout the world and performed numerous duties including disaster relief for Hurricane Hugo as well as service in Guantánamo Bay. It also played a supporting role in the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

. Recently the brigade served two tours of duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Organization

The brigade is subordinate to

. It is headquartered at

, Texas. Almost 1,000 soldiers of the brigade are stationed there. The Brigade contains four subordinate battalions of military police: * 93MPBnDUI

93d Military Police Battalion The 93d (or 93rd) Military Police Battalion of the United States Army was formed in June 1945 and has operated in World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars, the Gulf War, and the Iraq War. Mission The 93d Military Police Battalion deploys world ...

, at

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President Zachary Taylor, Ft. Bliss h ...

97th Military Police Battalion, at

Fort Riley Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Ge ...

720th Military Police Battalion, at

759th Military Police Battalion, at

Fort Carson Fort Carson is a United States Army post located directly south of Colorado Springs in El Paso, Pueblo, Fremont, and Huerfano counties, Colorado, United States. The developed portion of Fort Carson is located near the City of Colorado Springs ...

History

Vietnam War

The 89th Military Police Brigade was originally activated as a "

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

", roughly the size of a modern regiment.GlobalSecurity.org: 89th Military Police Brigade
''GlobalSecurity.org''. Retrieved 6 July 2008. The 89th Military Police Group was constituted in the

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a standin ...

on 19 February 1966Lineage and Honors for the 89th Military Police Brigade

United States Army Center of Military History The United States Army Center of Military History (CMH) is a directorate within the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. The Institute of Heraldry remains within the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Ar ...

. Retrieved 6 July 2008. and activated on 15 March of that year in the

Republic of Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of t ...

. The mission of the 89th Military Police Group was to provide general military police support for the III Corps and IV Corps Tactical Zones.89th Military Police Brigade Homepage
, SGT Penny Stephenson. Retrieved 6 July 2008. The group stayed in Vietnam in support of the two corps' areas of operation. The Group received 15 of the 17

s that could be earned for Vietnam service. With the removal of US forces from Vietnam, the organization was inactivated on 21 December 1971. On 13 September 1972 the unit was activated at Fort Lewis,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. The 89th Military Police Group was designed to command and control the operations of three to five military police battalions and other assigned or attached units. Additionally, it provided a Provost Marshal staff section to the

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

headquarters while assigned as their senior military police organization. The 89th Military Police Group remained at Fort Lewis until 21 February 1976 when the colors were transferred to

, Texas. On 16 July 1981 the 89th Military Police Group was reorganized as the 89th Military Police Brigade. 1973 & 1974 special members of the 89th PM Group were covertly assigned to Yakima base in Eastern Washington, for special assignments on CID Trafficking via the ASA/NSA center located under ground.

Operation Iraqi Freedom

The 89th Military Police Brigade deployed to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom early 2004, where it took over the mission previously tasked to the

18th Military Police Brigade The 18th Military Police Brigade is a military police brigade of the United States Army based in Vilseck, Germany, with subordinate battalions and companies stationed throughout Germany. It provides law enforcement and force protection duties to ...

on 31 January 2004. At that time the brigade assumed responsibility for the Iraqi Police training mission as well as the majority of all the Military Police Units in Iraq at that time. The unit returned to Fort Hood in December 2004. The 89th Military Police Brigade deployed for a second tour in August 2006 to the Iraqi theater of operation in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 2006–2008. During the deployment, it was composed of over 5,000 military police soldiers in the theater.18th Military Police Brigade assumes Iraq mission
Multi-National Corps – Iraq Public Affairs Office. Retrieved 6 July 2008. Brigade responsibilities included corrections and security operations. It deployed K-9 units during some operations. The brigade's primary responsibility, though, was the training of Iraqi police units. The brigade focused on local police units throughout the country, as another MP brigade handled the national police. The brigade commander would brief

US Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

officials in

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a meton ...

on the current situation, live from Iraq. It suffered several casualties, including a soldier killed by sniper fire, a soldier killed by a suicide car bomb, and two soldiers who died of non-combat related causes. The brigade returned home in October 2007, replaced again by the 18th Military Police Brigade. After this, the brigade resumed its policing roles at Fort Hood. During its second deployment, one of the unit commanders, William H. Steele, became infamous for being accused of breaching

military law Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bodie ...

by aiding the enemy. He was acquitted of the charges, though he was convicted of other charges and subsequently dismissed from the military.

Operation Enduring Freedom

The 410th Military Police Company deployed to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

in May 2009 and returned in May 2010. The 116th Military Police Company, 97th MP BN, 89TH MP BDE deployed to FOB Shinwar, Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan from May 2010 to May 2011. The 401st and 64th Military Police Companies deployed to Afghanistan in May 2010 and returned in April 2011. The 411th Military Police Company deployed to Kandahar Province in May 2011 and returned to Fort Hood in May 2012. HHD, 720th Military Police Battalion deployed in December 2011 and returned in December 2012.

Honors

Unit decorations

Campaign streamers

References

{{reflist

External links

89th Military Police Brigade Homepage
089 Military units and formations established in 1966