8th Military Police Brigade (United States)

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=8th Military Police Brigade


caption=8th Military Police Brigade Shoulder Sleeve Insignia
country=United States
type=Military Police Brigade
branch=Active duty
dates=July 26, 1967 - December 18, 1967
August 24, 1968 - July 1, 1972
April 16, 1996 - Present
specialization=Military Police
command_structure=8th Army
size=brigade
garrison=Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
ceremonial_chief=
nickname=
motto="Find the Truth"
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles=
notable_commanders=
anniversaries=
current_commander=COL Byron Freeman
current_commander_label=
ceremonial_chief=
ceremonial_chief_label=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
colonel_of_the_regiment_label=
notable_commanders=
identification_symbol=
identification_symbol_label=Distinctive unit insignia
identification_symbol_2=
identification_symbol_2_label=

The 8th Military Police Brigade is a military police brigade of the United States Army based at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. It is responsible for military police units operating in Korea, Japan, and all other US military interests in the Pacific Ocean region.

Activated during the Vietnam War, the 8th Military Police Brigade was one of many detachments created to provide command and control functions for existing military police units in the country. It served in the region for several years and earning ten campaign streamers before being deactivated during the US forces pullout from the region. The brigade was reactivated in Korea in the 1980's to provide command and control for all US Pacific military police forces, and has since been moved to Hawaii, where much of US Army Pacific is located. The brigade is currently preparing for a deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Organization

The Brigade is a subordinate unit of US Army Pacific and the Eighth United States Army. [cite web |url=http://www.pacom.mil/about/pacom.shtml |title=US Army Pacific Command |accessdate=2008-08-21 |work= |publisher=United States Army |date= ] It falls under the direct command of the 8th Theater Sustainment Command. [cite web |url=http://www.usarpac.army.mil/8tsc/cgmessage.html |title=8th Theater Sustainment Command |accessdate=2008-08-21 |work= |publisher=US Army Pacific |date= ] [cite web |url=http://www.army.mil/organization/activeunits.html |title=US Army Homepage: Organization |accessdate=2008-08-21 |work= |publisher=United States Army. |date= ]

Currently, the 8th Military Police Brigade consists of two battalions: the 94th Military Police Battalion in Yongsan (Seoul) and the 728th Military Police Battalion in Taegu (Camp Walker). The subordinate units of the 94th MP Battalion are the 55th Military Police Company in Chunchon (Camp Page), the 142nd Military Police Company in Yongsan, the 557th Military Police Company in Pyongtaek (Camp Humphreys) and the 249th Military Police Detachment (Confinement) in Pyongtaek. The subordinate units of the 728th MP Battalion are: the 57th Military Police Company in Waegwan (Camp Carroll), the 188th Military Police Company in Taegu and the 552d Military Police Company in Pusan (Camp Hialeah).cite web |url=http://www.wood.army.mil/USAMPS/history/MPunitHistories/BdeGrpCmd/8thMPBde.htm |title=8th Military Police Brigade: History |accessdate=2008-08-21 |work= |publisher=Fort Leonard Wood Staff |date= ]

The Brigade has also assumed command of the 65th and 84th Engineer Battalions. The 65th Engineer Battalion consists of an HHC, Engineer Support Company, the 95th Route Clearance Company, The 70th Engineer Company, The 7th Dive Team, and the 5th Geospatial Planning Cell. The 84th Engineer Battalion is comprised of six combat support companies consisting of an HHC, Forward Support Company, Both Horizontal and Vertical Construction companies, a survey design detachment, and a concrete detachment.

History

Vietnam War

The 8th Military Police Group was originally constituted on April 8, 1967 in the regular army and activated on July 26 at Fort Riley, Kansas.cite web |url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/mp/0008mpbde.htm |title=Lineage and Honors Information: 8th Military Police Brigade |accessdate=2008-08-21 |work= |publisher=United States Army Center for Military History. |date= ] After seeing only five months of duty, the group was again deactivated on December 18 of that year.

On August 24, 1968 the group was again activated, this time in Vietnam. Its activation was part of a larger activation of several military police groups in the region to provide greater command and control for Military Police operating throughout the region. As such, the headquarters element took command of military police units already operating in the country. The Brigade provided policing duties, based in Long Binh along with the 89th Military Police Group. During that time it was a subordinate unit of the 18th Military Police Brigade. [cite web |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/18mp-bde.htm |title=GlobalSecurity.org: 18th Military Police Brigade |accessdate=2008-08-21 |work= |publisher="GlobalSecurity.org". |date= ] It received its distinctive unit insignia on November 12, 1969.cite web |url=http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/MP/08th%20Military%20Police%20Brigade.htm |title=The Institute of Heraldry: 8th Military Police Brigade |accessdate=2008-08-21 |work= |publisher=The Institute of Heraldry. |date= ] The group operated in Vietnam until the pullout of US forces from the nation, receiving ten campaign streamers for its role in the conflict.

Reactivation in Korea

The 8th Military Police Brigade (Provisional) was constituted in Korea in September 1984 in response to the need for cohesive command and control element in the event of war, for the numerous non-divisional Military Police units on the peninsula. At the time it consisted of the 94th Military Police Battalion in Yongsan (Seoul) and the 728th Military Police Battalion in Taegu (Camp Walker).cite web |url=http://www.usarpac.army.mil/8tsc/8thMPB.html |title=United States Army Pacific Command: 8th Military Police Brigade |accessdate=2008-08-21 |work= |publisher=US Army Pacific Command. |date= ] However, the brigade would remain provisional and would not be officially activated for another ten years while it operated in this capacity.cite web |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/8mp.htm |title=GlobalSecurity.org: 8th Military Police Brigade |accessdate=2008-08-21 |work= |publisher="GlobalSecurity.org". |date= ]

In 1995, the concept plan was approved for the activation of a military police brigade headquarters in Korea. The 8th MP Brigade was officially activated on April 16, 1996 to provide command and control for the 728th Military Police Battalion and the 94th Military Police Battalion in armistice and to serve as the theater military police brigade during hostilities. The same day, it received its shoulder sleeve insignia.

In July 2006, the 8th MP Brigade Headquarters and the 728th MP Battalion were reassigned to US Army Pacific and moved from Korea to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. It was placed under the command of the newly created 8th Theater Sustainment Command. The command is responsible for preparing the 25th Infantry Division and other 8th Army units for worldwide deployment.

War on Terrorism

Subordinate units of the brigade's 728th MP Battalion deployed to Iraq in October 2004 to provide military police duties while the Army formed a clear rotational schedule for MP units coming and going from the country during Operation Iraqi Freedom. [cite web |url=http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=24181&archive=true |title=South Korea-based MPs on way to Iraq |accessdate=2008-08-21 |work= |publisher="Stars and Stripes". |last=Fisher |first=Franklin |date= ] In October 2007, the Brigade again deployed elements of the 728th MP Battalion to Iraq for 15 months in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The units suffered several casualties, including soldiers killed in ambushescite web |url=http://starbulletin.com/2007/11/16/news/story08.html |title=Schofield soldier dies in Iraq |accessdate=2008-08-21 |last=Kakesako |first=Gregg |work= |publisher="Star Bulliten" |date= ] and vehicle accidents. [cite web |url=http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=2943 |title=Marine Dies in Iraq; Previous Casualties Identified |accessdate=2008-08-21 |work= |publisher=American Forces Press Service. |date= ]

Both engineer battalions and the Brigade headquarters are scheduled to deploy to Iraq in fall 2008 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In July of 2008, the 8th MP Brigade began its move into Iraq with a pre-deployment site survey to support the upcoming deployment into the country.cite web |url=http://newsblaze.com/story/20080803134307zmil.nb/topstory.html |title=MP Brigades Complete Mission Recon |accessdate=2008-08-21 |last=Blottenberger |first=Daniel |work= |publisher=18th Military Police Brigade Public Affairs. |date= ] The brigade headquarters will replace the 18th Military Police Brigade, which will end its deployment in fall of 2008. The 8th MP brigade will continue the training and expansion of the national Iraqi Police force in the Baghdad area.

Honors

Unit decorations

Campaign streamers

References

External Links

* [http://8thmp.korea.army.mil/ 8th Military Police Brigade Web Site]