Spartan MPs inactivate after more than 70 years of continuous service

by John Pennell
U.S. Army Alaska Public Affairs

9/4/2014 - JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaksa -- The 793d Military Police Battalion had already amassed quite a history before the unit transferred from Germany to Alaska in 2010. By the time the unit was inactivated last week, Alaska-based Soldiers had added yet another combat deployment to a lineage that reaches back to the most decisive campaign of World War II.

The 793d MP cased its colors Aug. 28 in the Buckner Physical Fitness Center, bringing to a close nearly 72 years of consecutive service to the U.S. Army and the nation since its activation at Camp Maxey, Texas, on Dec. 26, 1942.

The unit first deployed to Scotland in February 1944 for training prior to movement to France. In August 1944, the battalion conducted route-security operations on the famous Red Ball Express, a truck convoy supply operation that ran 24 hours a day from the Normandy beaches to the front lines. The operation used almost 6,000 vehicles and transported a total of 412,193 tons of supplies.

From December 1944 to June 1945, the Spartans conducted port security operations in Antwerp, Belgium, and was cited in the Order of the Day by the Belgian Army. In June 1945, the battalion was assigned port security operations in Marseilles, France, until January 1946 when it entered Germany.

The battalion was subsequently assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, and moved to Nuremberg where it conducted law and order operations as part of the occupation force and security for the Nuremberg War Crimes Trial. The 793d MP was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation-European Theater and campaign streamers for Northern France 1944 and Rhineland 1944 to 1945.

The 793d MP next deployed to Saudi Arabia in December 1990 in support of VII Corps during Operation Desert Shield/Storm. The battalion advanced into Iraq and Kuwait in February 1991 at the start of the ground offensive in support of the 1st Armored Division, 3d Armored Division, and the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, where it conducted extensive enemy prisoner of war operations.

In April 1991, the battalion supervised the evacuation of thousands of refugees from Iraq to Saudi Arabia. The 793d MP was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation-Desert Shield/Storm and campaign streamers for Defense of Saudi Arabia, Liberation and Defense of Kuwait, and Southwest Asia Cease Fire.

In December 1995 the battalion deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina in support of Task Force Eagle and Operation Joint Endeavor. For almost 11 months, Soldiers of the battalion performed a wide variety of missions including battlefield circulation control, area and route security operations, VIP security and critical site security. During the Bosnian national elections in September 1996, the battalion provided around- the-clock support to nearly 200 election sites and counting houses in the Tuzla Valley.

The 793d MP deployed to Kosovo from June to December 1999 in support of Task Force Falcon to implement the peace initiatives following the NATO-led air war with Yugoslavia. They established the Bondsteel Detention Facility, the first facility of its kind in Kosovo. The unit returned to Kosovo from November 2000 until May 2001. In October 2002, the battalion returned to Kosovo for a third tour and conducted operations in support of Multi-National Brigade East until August 2003.

The 793d MP deployed to Iraq in December 2004 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The battalion redeployed to its home in Bamberg, Germany, in November 2005. The unit was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation-Iraq and an Iraq campaign streamer.

The battalion once again deployed to Iraq from April 2008 to June 2009, where it oversaw 12 subordinate units professionalizing the Iraqi Police across seven provinces in central and southern Iraq, from Baghdad to Basra, serving under the Multi-National Division-Central, Multi-National Division-Southeast and Multi-National Division South.

After returning from deployment, the battalion moved north to Alaska in May 2010 as part of the 2d Engineer Brigade. The 793d MP deployed for the final time from October 2012 to May 2013, to Gardez, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The battalion was responsible for running Combat Outpost Justice, partnering with the Afghan zone headquarters, and overseeing the operations and logistical support for four companies across RC-E.

Of the battalion's sub-units, Headquarters Detachment, 793d MP Battalion; the 164th Military Police Company; and the 472d Military Police Company will officially inactivate Sept. 15. These units were symbolically inactivated during the battalion's ceremony. In July, the 545th Military Police Company was transferred to the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, and the 28th Military Police Detachment was transferred to the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.

Army Brig. Gen. Mark Spindler, commandant of the U.S. Army Military Police School at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., spoke about his days commanding the 793d MP as a lieutenant colonel in Germany and described the feeling of pride of accomplishment the unit would leave as its legacy.

"This is a source of great joy, not sadness, and pride for all of us in the regiment who celebrate you," he said. "You who have been the jewel in the crown of our regiment for over 70 years. I am not articulate enough or creative enough to offer any final words to match the magnitude of this occasion, other than to say as your commandant, 'Thank you, 793d, and well done, good, and faithful servant. Well done. We will miss you.'"

Spindler also pointed out inactivation is not the end of the 793d MP.

"Rest assured, our Army again will call upon the 793d to unfurl her colors in a time of great need and great strife," Spindler said. "And when that time comes, a new generation of Spartans ... will once again fill her ranks."