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Fort Leavenworth officially welcomed home the Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 40th Military Police Internment and Resettlement Battalion, at a ceremony Jan. 25.
The Soldiers and corrections specialists assigned to Camp Cropper, Iraq, deployed for one year in support of detainee operations. The 40th’s stateside role is the care and custody of inmates at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks. The battalion was stood up about two years ago to serve alongside the existing 705th Military Police Internment and Resettlement Battalion, forming a new Army Corrections Brigade to staff both the USDB and the newly-built Joint Regional Correctional Facility.
The brigade’s role has also been to provide better training and support for Soldiers who work with detainees after the human rights violations reported at Abu Ghraib in 2004. Nearly eight years later, three units of Soldiers from Fort Leavenworth have served three separate deployments in support of detention facilities in Iraq.
The 40th’s role was to complete a $3 million construction project at the Camp Cropper Theater Interment Facility, turn it over to the government of Iraq and train more than 150 Iraqi corrections officers to work there. The unit also turned over a detention facility at Al Asad Airbase to Iraq, and transferred about 200 “high value” detainees to Iraq.
Col. Eric Belcher, 15th Military Police Brigade commander, said the mission ended differently than planned and 17 Soldiers elected to stay behind while their unit returned home. Those 17 Soldiers were some of the last to leave Iraq via Chinook helicopter.
Earlier in the day, Bronze Star Medals were presented to Sgt. 1st Class David Barrera, Sgt. Maj. James Breckinridge, Maj. Christopher Carpentier, Sgt. 1st Class Edgar Ford, Sgt. 1st Class Carmen George, Staff Sgt. James Russell, Capt. Stacey Sears and Sgt. 1st Class Kale Webster. Seven Meritorious Service Medals, 104 Army Commendation Medals and seven Army Achievement Medals were presented to HCC, 40th MP Soldiers.
Belcher said he was excited to be around the young Soldiers who completed their mission in Iraq.
“It excites me, because as I stand before you, I know I’m standing in the midst of heroes — brave men and women who answered the call of duty and courageously served their time on the very front lines where individual audacity and pure desire to complete the mission no matter what the cost were a normal day’s activity,” he said.
Belcher said in addition to care and custody of detainees and training of Iraqi corrections officers, the unit also established a counterinsurgency program inside the wire. In previous U.S. Army Corrections deployments, this has included literacy and other educational programs for detainees.
“The 40th MP Battalion was one of the last units to depart Iraq, bringing a successful and safe close to detainee operations in that country,” Belcher said. “This battalion set the standard extremely high for any military following them.”
Lt. Col. Erica Nelson, battalion commander, said once U.S. Soldiers turned over Camp Cropper to Iraq, they were given an additional assignment at Al Asad to get it ready for detainees. She said Soldiers got to work right away cleaning, painting, putting up razor wire and installing security and safety features in the facility. Within 30 days, a contingent from their command and the International Red Cross inspected the facility, finding no deficiencies.
“This speaks to the professionalism and competence of our corrections and NCOs, who are truly masters of their craft,” she said.
Belcher also thanked the families, especially the children of deployed Soldiers. He was the child of a deployed Soldier himself while growing up.
“I know it’s very hard to see your mom or dad go away for a year, but I’ve got to tell you, you kids of the deployed Soldiers did a fantastic job,” he said.
Fort Leavenworth officially welcomed home the Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 40th Military Police Internment and Resettlement Battalion, at a ceremony Jan. 25.
The Soldiers and corrections specialists assigned to Camp Cropper, Iraq, deployed for one year in support of detainee operations. The 40th’s stateside role is the care and custody of inmates at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks. The battalion was stood up about two years ago to serve alongside the existing 705th Military Police Internment and Resettlement Battalion, forming a new Army Corrections Brigade to staff both the USDB and the newly-built Joint Regional Correctional Facility.
The brigade’s role has also been to provide better training and support for Soldiers who work with detainees after the human rights violations reported at Abu Ghraib in 2004. Nearly eight years later, three units of Soldiers from Fort Leavenworth have served three separate deployments in support of detention facilities in Iraq.
The 40th’s role was to complete a $3 million construction project at the Camp Cropper Theater Interment Facility, turn it over to the government of Iraq and train more than 150 Iraqi corrections officers to work there. The unit also turned over a detention facility at Al Asad Airbase to Iraq, and transferred about 200 “high value” detainees to Iraq.
Col. Eric Belcher, 15th Military Police Brigade commander, said the mission ended differently than planned and 17 Soldiers elected to stay behind while their unit returned home. Those 17 Soldiers were some of the last to leave Iraq via Chinook helicopter.
Earlier in the day, Bronze Star Medals were presented to Sgt. 1st Class David Barrera, Sgt. Maj. James Breckinridge, Maj. Christopher Carpentier, Sgt. 1st Class Edgar Ford, Sgt. 1st Class Carmen George, Staff Sgt. James Russell, Capt. Stacey Sears and Sgt. 1st Class Kale Webster. Seven Meritorious Service Medals, 104 Army Commendation Medals and seven Army Achievement Medals were presented to HCC, 40th MP Soldiers.
Belcher said he was excited to be around the young Soldiers who completed their mission in Iraq.
“It excites me, because as I stand before you, I know I’m standing in the midst of heroes — brave men and women who answered the call of duty and courageously served their time on the very front lines where individual audacity and pure desire to complete the mission no matter what the cost were a normal day’s activity,” he said.
Belcher said in addition to care and custody of detainees and training of Iraqi corrections officers, the unit also established a counterinsurgency program inside the wire. In previous U.S. Army Corrections deployments, this has included literacy and other educational programs for detainees.
“The 40th MP Battalion was one of the last units to depart Iraq, bringing a successful and safe close to detainee operations in that country,” Belcher said. “This battalion set the standard extremely high for any military following them.”
Lt. Col. Erica Nelson, battalion commander, said once U.S. Soldiers turned over Camp Cropper to Iraq, they were given an additional assignment at Al Asad to get it ready for detainees. She said Soldiers got to work right away cleaning, painting, putting up razor wire and installing security and safety features in the facility. Within 30 days, a contingent from their command and the International Red Cross inspected the facility, finding no deficiencies.
“This speaks to the professionalism and competence of our corrections and NCOs, who are truly masters of their craft,” she said.
Belcher also thanked the families, especially the children of deployed Soldiers. He was the child of a deployed Soldier himself while growing up.
“I know it’s very hard to see your mom or dad go away for a year, but I’ve got to tell you, you kids of the deployed Soldiers did a fantastic job,” he said.
