The 49th Military Police Brigade during Operation IRAQI FREESOM
(OIF) 05-07 (September 2005 - September 2006) consisted of the
Brigade Headquarters and Headquarters Company, three Military
Police Battalions, 23 Companies, and five Detachments which performed
full spectrum Military Police operations throughout 14 of 18 provinces
in Iraq, from October 2005 through March 2007. The units, from
active component posts in the continental United States, Germany,
and Korea; Army National Guard units from eight states and the
District of Columbia, one United States Army Reserve region, and
the United States Air Force, came together to perform possibly
the most strategic mission in the Iraqi Theater of Operations
in 2006:
The Year of the Police in Iraq. The units deployed independently starting in September 2005, with the final OIF 05-07 unit assuming its mission in May 2006. Another five companies joined us in July 2006 to add to the Police Partnership capability the brigade offered to Multi-National Corps-Iraq (MNC-I). Altogether, almost 4,500 Soldiers, Airmen, and several Navy Electronic Warfare Officers worked together to secure key Iraqi, US, and United Nations politicians and diplomats and partner with the Iraqi Police Service to set the stage for independent police operations and Provincial Iraqi Control.
The 49th's assumption of this mission came at a critical time for Military Police forces in Iraq. In August 2005, the two Military Police Brigades had split functionally, with all the detention operations missions going to one brigade under Task Force 134, and all the general support and missions in support of the Iraqi Police falling to the other brigade. This focus on the Iraqi Police grew to be the decisive mission of the 49thMilitary Police Brigade, taking us away from the more traditional Military Police missions of Area Security and Maneuver & Mobility Support Operations.
The form it would take is the Police Transition Team (PTT). The importance of this mission is underscored by the fact that the Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I) and MNC-I Commanding Generals referred to 2006 as the Year of the Police, making it the decisive operation for the entire effort in Iraq.
In less than three months, the 49thMilitary Police Brigade created and distributed Police Transition Teams to fourteen of Iraq's eighteen provinces. PTTs consist of Military Police, International Police Liaison Officers (IPLO), and Linguists. The teams work at Station, District and Provincial level to partner with the Iraqi Police (IP) and assist them in every way to develop into a professional police force. PTTs assess each IP organization, assist them in improving force protection of their employees and facilities, assist in distribution of vital police equipment needed to do their job (vehicles, weapons, radios, vests, and police equipment), assist in the administration of the force. Training is a big part of how PTTs assist the IPS. They train IPs, they prepare IP leaders to train their own forces by teaching and mentoring them in a train the trainer mode, they monitor the status of IPs attending the Police Academy, and work to get new recruits into the academy. The 49th Military Police Brigade has ensured that the IPS has sent 30,000 IPs through an academy since October 2005, close to meeting the goal of 135,000 trained Iraqi Police. In time, the Brigade had over 200 PTTs working in 14 of 18 Iraqi Provincial headquarters, 60 District headquarters, and 240 Stations. The last several months of the Brigade's tenure was spent in receiving, equipping, and fielding five new Military Police Companies. These were initially sent to Iraq to augment the PTT coverage in the western and northern provinces, but their mission changed upon arrival, and all were fielded in Baghdad to help offset sectarian violence and participate in Operation Together Forward, Phase II.
In addition to executing the Corps' Decisive Operation, 49th Military Police Brigade elements provided static and escort security for Iraq's Tier 1 level government officials, to include the President and Prime Minister of Iraq. The brigade also provided security for the American Embassy in Baghdad's Green Zone, and personal security for the U.S Ambassador, the Deputy US Ambassador, and the United Nations (UN) Ambassador and Deputy. This mission experienced no events and resulted in the complete safety of all persons protected. Their protection was of vital strategic importance to MNF-I and the coalition's entire effort to promote a stable permanent Government of Iraq.
Theater level detention operations were handled by the 43rdMilitary Police Brigade, but elements of the 49th did assist the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in running a Brigade Internment Facility (BIF) at Logistics Support Area (LSA) Diamondback at the Mosul Air Base, and the Division Internment Facility (DIF) at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Remagen at Tikrit South Air Base. The 709th Military Police Battalion elements were also involved in transporting prisoners from these facilities. This was a highly successful mission, with the BIF at LSA Diamondback being named the best facility in theater.
The final mission accomplished by the 49thMilitary Police Brigade was Law and Order for four coalition bases in Iraq: Victory Base Complex near Baghdad, Combat Operating Base (COB) Speicher at the al-Sahra Air Base, LSA Anaconda at the Balad Air Base, and the Tallil Air Base. Brigade elements provided Law and Order Operations on Camp Marez and LSA Diamondback in Mosul until that mission was withdrawn as well. The efforts to maintain law and order on our major posts enabled commanders throughout the theater to provide a safe and secure environment for their Soldiers to live.
A group of people without whom we could not accomplish our mission in Iraq are the Interpreters who help us communicate with the Iraqi Police, security forces, and the Iraqi people. The Brigade had over 350 Interpreters contracted to work with us, and they put their lives, and sometimes the lives of their families, on the line to assist us every day. Some are Arabic speaking U.S. citizens, often of Middle Eastern descent or origin, and many are local nationals who speak English and who work with Coalition Forces to play a part in improving their country. They were important parts of our team, from the Interpreters who worked in the Police Transition Teams to the Interpreter who translated for the Brigade Commander in his many interactions with Iraqi leaders. We couldn't have accomplished our mission so well without them.
The other group of professionals who worked with and became a part of the 49th Military Police Brigade are the International Police Liaison Officers (IPLO) who are employed by DynCorp International and managed in theater by the CPATT - the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team. IPLOs are current or former police officers who mentor and train the Iraqi Police with the assistance of Soldiers from the 49thMilitary Police Brigade. Their experience as civilian police officers add a valuable dimension to the training we are able to conduct with the Iraqi Police. They worked very closely with their military counterparts to add that civilian police dimension into the police training. Almost 400 IPLOs work with the PTTs of the 49th Military Police Brigade, and they add an aspect of policing experience that is hard to find among MPs. IPLOs became an integral part of the 49th Military Police Brigade family, and we wouldn't have accomplished our mission to the extent we did without them.
The working environment for 49th Military
Police Brigade soldiers was often not safe and secure. The mission
of training Iraqi Police required over 10,000 miles of travel
on the most dangerous, most austere roads in Iraq. But each day,
the Soldiers and Airmen of the brigade pressed on to share risk
with our Iraqi "Partners in Blue". Twelve Soldiers
and an IPLO lost their lives in service to their country while
performing missions that would help the Iraqi Police become a
professional force.
49th Military Police Brigade units were spread throughout 14 of
the 18 Iraqi Provinces. From very austere, remote positions away
from any FOB to the nicest accommodations offered in Iraq, we
ran our missions. Some teams stayed at Iraqi Police Stations
for days at a time, living and working with their IP counterparts.
Others rarely left the FOB. All played an important role in
improving the Iraqi Police Service. Thirteen Soldiers and an
International Police Liaison Officer lost their lives during this
mission, and approximately thirty were seriously wounded and evacuated
from theater.
Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 49th Military Police Brigade activated in the California Army National Guard January 16, 2005 in Fairfield, California, specifically to mobilize and deploy in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. The "Sentinels" formed a competent and cohesive headquarters in the five-month period before their mobilization and mobilized to Fort Hood in May. After four months of further training, they deployed from Fort Hood, through Kuwait, to Iraq, arriving in early October 2005. The California Army National Guard headquarters relieved the 42nd Military Police Brigade from Fort Lewis, WA in a Transfer of Authority on 2 November 2005.
Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 49th Military Police Brigade consists of about 100 Soldiers who provide command and control to the brigade 24/7.
The Brigade HHC lost one Soldier in an attack on a convoy during the deployment: Sergeant First Class Isaac S. Lawson was killed in northeast Baghdad on June 5th, 2006.
