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. ...

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, ...

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: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. It is a subordinate unit of III Armored Corps. 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 ...

in the midst of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, 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 Vie ...

, 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 perfor ...

for the entire war and earning fifteen campaign streamers. 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 Hurricane Hugo was a powerful Cape Verde tropical cyclone that inflicted widespread damage across the northeastern Caribbean and the Southeastern United States in September 1989. Across its track, Hugo affected approximately 2 million peopl ...

as well as service in

Guantánamo Bay Guantánamo Bay ( es, Bahía de Guantánamo) is a bay in Guantánamo Province at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the largest harbor on the south side of the island and it is surrounded by steep hills which create an enclave that is cut o ...

. It also played a supporting role in the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. Recently the brigade served two tours of duty in support of

Operation Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

Organization

The brigade is subordinate to III Armored Corps. 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, 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 William Wallace Smith Bliss, LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President ...

97th Military Police Battalion, at Fort Riley * 720MPBnDUI

720th Military Police Battalion The 720th Military Police Battalion is a military police battalion of the United States Army based at Fort Hood, Texas. It is a subordinate unit under the Training and Readiness Authority of the 89th Military Police Brigade. Constituted on 10 Janu ...

, at

759th Military Police Battalion The 759th Military Police Battalion is a military police battalion in the United States Army. It is currently stationed at Fort Carson, CO – "The Mountain Post". It is administratively controlled by the 43rd Sustainment Brigade at Fort Carson ...

, at Fort Carson

History

Vietnam War

The 89th Military Police Brigade was originally activated as a " group", 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 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 3rd Corps, Third Corps, III Corps, or 3rd Army Corps may refer to: France * 3rd Army Corps (France) * III Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * III Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of t ...

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 campaign streamers 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 Provost marshal is a title given to a person in charge of a group of Military Police (MP). The title originated with an older term for MPs, '' provosts'', from the Old French ''prévost'' (Modern French ''prévôt''). While a provost marshal i ...

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

early 2004, where it took over the mission previously tasked to the 18th Military Police Brigade 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 sec ...

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 metony ...

on the current situation, live from Iraq. It suffered several casualties, including a soldier killed by

sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...

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 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 borde ...

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