BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Soldiers from the 1103rd Military Police Detachment have been performing their military police mission and showcasing their skill for several months in Afghanistan.
The unit’s No. 1 priority, according to leadership, is to provide law enforcement support to the Bagram and Kandahar communities and force protection measures for base defense operations.
“We are currently in a solid battle rhythm and have moved past the halfway point of this deployment. We continue to focus our efforts on training and maintaining a good rapport with our new Romanian MPs,” said Capt. Christopher J. McGhee, commander of the 1103rd and provost marshal. “They have been on ground just over a month, and our working relationship with them continues to improve.”
While the Soldiers are accomplishing their main mission, they are also working on their own accomplishments. He said many are working on or have completed professional development courses.
“One Soldier in particular has been working to complete his bachelor’s degree in Justice and Public Safety Administration and is currently taking his last class to complete his degree,” McGhee said.
The detachment has participated in internal exercises to improve operations. Soldiers continue to participate in base defense exercises and train with the Air Force and Marines and coalition partners, including the Czechs and the Georgians.
“The Soldiers performed admirably and worked well with the other first responders on the installation as well as other coalition forces,” said McGhee. “Our Soldiers also collaborated with another U.S. force to conduct another knock-and-talk compliance check of that organization’s Soldiers and contractors. We assisted their teams in checking ID’s, LOAs (letters of operation), and plain sight searches to ensure everyone was in compliance with installation policies.”
Since the unit has been in theater, they have had two Soldiers re-enlist into the Kentucky Army National Guard and five Soldiers from the base participate in the Army Ten-Miler shadow run.
“Everyone did a great job and all finished in less than two hours. It was a great event and I was very proud to see everyone’s effort in completing the race,” said McGhee.
The MPs were recognized in the ASG-A monthly newsletter for a community service project where U.S. and Romanian MPs cleaned up one of the installation’s smoking areas that had been neglected for quite some time.
The unit will continue to maintain the standard set by fellow Kentuckians as they finish out their deployment and show what it is to “Fight as Kentuckians.”