FORT HOOD, Texas - In the Army, a unit’s shoulder sleeve insignia is more than an embroidered patch used to designate which unit they belong to. A unit’s patch carries with it the unit’s lineage that will often times instill a pride that spans the generations of Soldiers that wear it.
Take for instance the 89th Military Police Brigade’s patch. It’s a disc 3-inches in diameter, within a 1/8-inch yellow border, nine vertical alternating green and yellow stripes and centered on a scarlet eight-pointed star, bearing at center overall a white sword point up surmounted by a yellow dragon’s head.
The yellow and green are the colors associated with military police. The star is symbolic of courage and law enforcement. The eight points and the nine stripes suggest the unit’s numerical designation. The sword represents military justice, law and order. The dragon represents authority and guardianship and alludes to the unit’s activation in the Republic of Vietnam.
With a pat on the left shoulder a little more than 800 Soldiers with the 92nd Military Police Battalion were honored to don the coveted 89th MP Brigade, “Griffin Brigade,” shoulder sleeve insignia during a patching ceremony held June 17 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
The ceremony signified the realignment of the 92nd MP Bn. from the 4th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade to the world’s largest military police organization, the 89th MP Brigade.
The 4th MEB, nicknamed “Dauntless,” had spent the past 7 years serving as Task Force Operations for the Joint Task Force-Civil Support’s Defense Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Response Force and supporting military operations throughout the world.
“I’m proud of the accomplishments of our Dauntless Soldiers throughout the years,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Jon Stanley, 4th MEB command sergeant major. “The 4th MEB was a disciplined and professional unit and our Soldiers will undoubtedly go on to serve the Army and our nation with pride and competence.”
Although proud of his work with the 4th MEB, Sgt. Alex Abbot, a military policeman with the 13th Military Police Company, 92nd MP Battalion, was excited to join the Griffin Brigade.
“I am going to miss the ‘Dauntless,’ but it is a good change for the future,” Abbot said. “I am pretty excited for the training opportunities we will have coming up.”
The 89th MP Brigade commander, Col. Ross Guieb, welcomes the addition of the 92nd MP Battalion into his formation and looks forward to the strengths they will bring to the brigade.
“The 92nd strength is they are one of the most trained MP units in our Regiment,” Guieb said. “The ability to train at the Home of the Regiment is second-to-none. The ability to leverage USAMPS resources is unique to any organization in the Regiment.”
The 89th MP Brigade consists of five military police battalions that span four states. Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 89th Military Police Brigade and the 720th Military Police Battalion are both located at Fort Hood. The 92nd MP Battalion is located at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. The 93rd Military Police Battalion is located at Fort Bliss. The 97th Military Police Battalion is located at Fort Riley, Kansas. The 759th Military Police Battalion is located at Fort Carson, Colorado.
“That is truly the strength of the MPs,” said Brig. Gen. Mark Spindler, USAMPS commandant. “It doesn’t matter if you are doing this at Fort Leonard Wood, or Fort Bliss, or Fort Hood there is that continuity that the MP bring to the protection and preservation of the force.”
The brigade’s primary mission is to support III Corps as a subordinate command in peace and war. During peacetime, the Brigade is responsible for 24-hour continuous law enforcement and security support to the major military installations and communities of III Corps encompassing Fort Bliss, Fort Carson, Fort Hood, Fort Leonard Wood, and Fort Riley.
“In total, the 89th MP Brigade supports a community of over 750,000 Soldiers, Family members, civilians, contractors and retirees to preserve and protect the force,” Guieb said.
The 89th MP Brigade and its subordinate units are prepared, if called, to support other major headquarters for contingency missions on a worldwide basis.
The “Griffin Brigade” has been continuously deployed executing combat support law enforcement support, personal security missions and military working dog support to all of the Geographic Combatant Commands throughout the globe.
Although never having been a part of the 89th MP Brigade, the 92nd MP Battalion commander, Lt. Col. Chad Goyette, was very excited about the opportunities joining the Griffin Brigade would offer his Soldiers.
“Once I got a chance to meet with Griffin 6, [Col. Guieb], and Griffin 7, [Command Sgt. Maj. Cross], early in December the anticipation started to mount,” Goyette said.
Goyette noticed right away after meeting the “Griffin” command team that there would be a great advantage to having a leadership
comprised of some of the best leaders in the military police regiment.
“What’s nice is having people around me who understand what our responsibilities are and the uniqueness of the MP Soldier and MP leader as is applies to the day to day operation,” Goyette said. “I am very excited and really look forward to the next year ahead and the opportunities that are out there to continue to grow and professionalize our organization.”
Since taking command of the 89th MP Brigade over a year ago, Guieb has set out to forge the future by encouraging an environment that builds and develops successful leaders.
“Leader development is everything we do, not just [officer professional developments], [noncommissioned officer professional developments], and [leader professional developments]. It is a holistic program that embodies our profession,” Guieb said. “LPDs, training, maintenance, staff rides, dining in, CTC rotations, corps warfighters, etc., are just some of the things we have done to develop young leaders at all echelons.”
It is because of this philosophy the “Griffin Brigade” has become one of the most talked about brigades within the MP Corps.
“The 89th MP Brigade is one of the best brigades in the history of the MP Corps,” Spindler said. “The reason it is one of the best MP brigades is because of extraordinary leaders. You can almost make that statement all the way down to team leaders and squad leaders and all the way up to the brigade commander. These are absolutely top professionals in the regiment.”
Guieb hopes to continue to build upon the legacy of the 89th MP Brigade as they continue to lead the way within the MP Regiment.
“I am most proud of the Soldiers, leaders and families being innovative and creative as we solve our Army’s toughest problems,” Guieb said. “Also, I am proud that we continue to enable our supported commanders in the field. We do all this with professionalism and pride in our unit and regiment; and along side our DA civilian partners.”
Date Taken: | 06.17.2015 |
Date Posted: | 07.09.2015 08:26 |
Story ID: | 169487 |
Location: | FORT HOOD, TEXAS, US |
Web Views: | 154 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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