Photo By Adam Holguin | Brig. Gen. Tom Bump, standing, land component commander, New Mexico Army National...... read more read more
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FORT BLISS, Texas - The 126th Military Police Company, New Mexico Army National Guard, departed for a deployment to the Middle East, Feb. 1. The unit departed from Silas L. Copeland Arrival /Departure Airfield Control Group in the evening hours after completing a wide array of training in preparation for this deployment.
Brig. Gen. Tom Bump, land component commander, New Mexico Army National Guard, traveled from the Land of Enchantment to see off the 126th MP Company and was encouraging and reflective during his farewell remarks.
“It’s a new experience for a lot of you ... and this is now a part of your story you are going to carry onto your kids and to your wives, husbands and grandchildren someday,” Bump told the Soldiers.
“Take care of each other, take care of yourselves, you have great leadership ... I couldn’t be prouder of you,” Bump said.
The unit, headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with a detachment in Las Cruces, New Mexico, will be providing customs services.
“We’ll be based out of Kuwait for customs operations in the U.S. Central Command area of operations,” said Capt. Joshua Walsh, commander, 126th MP Company. “We’ll be screening personnel, vehicles, equipment, connexes ... so anybody who is coming in and out of Kuwait, or the remote sites, will be going through us.”
After months of pre-mobilization training, the unit arrived here in January to complete mobilization training and the validation process under the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security.
“I was really impressed with the training we got on customs here,” Walsh said. “We were able to work with the Border Patrol, with the personnel here at the ADACG and with the Customs and Border Protection at the borders and at the airport. I think for the Soldiers it’s done really well for them.”
Six Soldiers assigned to the 126th MP Company will be deploying with someone they share a close bond: A pair of brothers, a married couple and a father-daughter duo, making the deployment a family affair.
Spc. Christopher Cohoe, and his brother, Pvt. Brenden Cohoe, will be deploying for the first time.
Nicknamed “Big Cohoe,” Christopher is three years older than Brenden, “Little Cohoe.” The siblings, who hail from the Farmington, New Mexico, area, enlisted into the National Guard on the same day, attended basic training together, were assigned to the same unit – the 919th MP Company – and both volunteered for this deployment.
“It just makes it a whole lot easier having my brother with me,” Big Cohoe said.
Spc. Jassen (pronounced Jason) Lopez, customs agent, and Spc. Rene Lopez, supply clerk, met while serving in the unit more than four years ago, fell in love and got married. This is the couple’s initial deployment.
Jassen sought out some advice from an older Soldier who also deployed with his military spouse.
“He said it’s kind of stressful, seeing each other every day, but that it is a good experience,” Jassen said. “He gave me a pointer – ‘she’s always right.’ Not the pointer I wanted to hear ... ”
“ ... But the best advice,” Rene said, finishing her husband’s sentence.
The couple from Santa Fe, New Mexico, hopes to save money for a down payment on a house while deployed.
First Sgt. Lacey Ray Macias is embarking on a third deployment, while his daughter, Spc. Krista Macias, a fourth generation Soldier of the Macias family, will be working on her first.
The father-daughter duo will put aside their family roles and deploy as two Soldiers assigned to 126th MP Company.
“It’s kind of weird to address him that way, as first sergeant, but I try to maintain my military bearing,” Krista said.
“We are Soldiers first and she is my daughter second, until I get back home,” Lacey said.
With numerous family bonds in the 126th MP Company, it is clear that for these New Mexico Guardsmen, family ties are Army strong.
| Date Taken: | 02.18.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 02.18.2016 13:00 |
| Story ID: | 189182 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TEXAS, US |
| Hometown: | ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO, US |
| Hometown: | LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO, US |
| Hometown: | SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO, US |
| Web Views: | 693 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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