Indiana National Guard Public Affairs Office

Law and Order at its Finest

By Spc. Robert G. Cooper III, Indiana National Guard

When it comes to the protection and security of the individual soldier deployed overseas, the military police are there to provide operational security at hundreds of military installations across the globe. This is no different when it comes to Indiana’s own 939th Military Police Detachment.

However, the 939th is unique when it comes to their most recent deployment to Iraq.

While deployed in 2004-05, the

unit was split into two separate elements; one was deployed to LSA Anaconda in Balad, Iraq, while the second element was deployed to Camp Victory Base Complex in Badghad.

The Adjutant General of Indiana, Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger, welcomes home Sgt. First Class Kerry Buckner of the 939th Military Police Detachment during a ceremony honoring their deployment last year to Iraq. During the ceremony, the unit was presented with the Meritorious Unit Commendation, the first given to an Indiana National Guard unit since 1969.

Both elements were tasked with undertaking various Law and Order missions while deployed as well as administrative, humanitarian and technical tasking.

As a result of their outstanding performance in theater, the 939th was awarded in July the Meritorious Unit Commendation, an award reserved for units that have exhibited superior devotion and meritorious conduct towards their mission. This was the first time in decades since an Indiana National Guard unit has received this award, the last being the D Company Rangers, 151st Infantry, in 1969.

Company D remains the highest decorated unit in the history of the Indiana National Guard.

Members of the 939th Military Police Detachment salute during a welcome home ceremony at Camp Atterbury Mobilization Training Center in Edinburgh, Ind.

“It is an honor to be mentioned in the same sentence with the Company D Rangers,” said Lt. Col. Deedra Thombleson, commander of the 939th Military Police Detachment while deployed in 2004-05. “This award shows the dedication, commitment and professionalism of the soldiers who deployed with the 939th Military Police Detachment.”

According to Thombleson, the prerequisites for the Meritorious Unit Commendation are very high. “As far as discipline goes, the unit had no Article 15’s and maintained a high level of professionalism throughout the deployment,” she said. “When you go into a deployment, you want to stress mission accomplishment and a high level of motivation and self-discipline.”

Despite the unit’s dedication to the mission, they still had a long road ahead of them with the deployment.

“The challenges of getting equipment, such as non-tactical vehicles, radios and internet access for research presented itself many times during the mission,” Thombleson said.

Both elements of the 939th were able to work through the equipment problems, purchasing everything from Global Positioning Systems (GPS), bicycles and emergency lights to portable breath test instruments, metal detectors and radar guns.

“Another challenge was working with different military branches, civilian contractors and the local population.

The Adjutant General of Indiana, Maj. Gen R. Martin Umbarger, and State Command Sergeant Major Command Sgt. Maj. James Brown add a Meritorious Unit Commendation streamer to the 939th Military Police Detachment’s guidon.

The language barrier was difficult to work through, but nonetheless we were able to handle this through interpreters.”

The unit was also instrumental in establishing a laundry list of improvements at both locations, including the installation of a new radio system that drastically cut down on radio interference from other sources, implementation of a Centralized Operations Police Suite that allowed the unit to access worldwide, web-based information, the building of two Military Police Stations and the establishment of a on-post vehicle registration system that was far superior to the previous one before the unit arrived.

“The fact that we left our Area of Operation in a better state than what is was before we came there was, in my opinion, our greatest accomplishment,” Thombleson said.