CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Soldiers with the West Virginia Army National Guard’s 156th Military Police Law and Order Detachment landed at Fort Bliss following a 10-month overseas deployment supporting the U.S. Army Central’s Area Support Group–Jordan.
Brig. Gen. Gene Holt, assistant adjutant general – Army, and Command Sgt. Maj. Chadwick Moneypenny, state command sergeant major, met the Soldiers Dec. 15 as they stepped off the plane in Texas. This is the last stop for the troops before reuniting with family and friends for the first time since deploying in February.
“These Soldiers performed super well and were highly appreciated,” said Capt. John Ivester, 156th MP commander. “The ASG command was sad to see everybody go because they really hit that level of optimal proficiency.”
“The Soldiers in the 156th brought great credit to themselves and the West Virginia National Guard while deployed,” said Maj. Gen. Bill Crane, adjutant general. ”ASG-J provides the support structure for USARCENT facilities and DoD personnel in and around Jordan, which goes to show how adept our troops are at operating on a global stage. I’m very proud of them and their work and ... especially happy they get to be home in time to celebrate the holidays with their families.”
The 156th MP Detachment, 77th Troop Command Battalion, 111th Engineer Brigade, deployed from their home station of Holden, West Virginia, under the command of Ivester and Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Hatfield. While deployed, they conducted investigations, law enforcement operations, personal security services and force protection at five installations in Jordan and across six countries.
During the mobilization, several 156th MP Soldiers also assisted host nation partners by participating in a Jordanian Armed Forces Language Institute engagement, teaching English.
“They displayed true professionalism and continued to do the job day in and day out with no issues at all,” Ivester said.
After demobilization procedures, the Soldiers depart Fort Bliss to their homes. Often, larger units are flown back to West Virginia and given a formal homecoming ceremony, but thanks to the unit’s smaller size, the desire to get the families reunited as soon as possible means the Soldiers can travel straight home.
The detachment last deployed in 2018, operating at two of Afghanistan's largest bases, Bagram Airfield and Kandahar Airfield, and supported smaller outlying bases.