RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Hanover-based 229th Military Police, or MP, Company, 276th Engineer Battalion, 329th Regional Support Group returned to the United States June 13, following their deployment to the U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, area of responsibility.
About 130 Soldiers will conduct demobilization tasks at Fort Bliss, Texas, before returning to Virginia. The unit began its deployment during a ceremony in June 2025.
During their deployment, the 229th’s Soldiers conducted customs clearance operations as their primary mission. After the outset of Operation Epic Fury in February, the unit shifted gears to provide law enforcement support at a military installation in Jordan. Seventy-two of the unit’s Soldiers were validated and credentialed by the Area Support Group - Jordan Provost Marshal Office prior to the mission.
“Over the course of a year, the 229th MPs supported a broad range of locations with vital military customs support enabling U.S. and coalition force missions through United States Central Command,” said Maj. Gen. James W. Ring, the adjutant general of the Virginia National Guard. “We are glad to have them home and thank their families and loved ones for their support during this extended deployment. They represent the best of Virginia.”
While conducting customs operations, the unit painstakingly cleared equipment and personnel, maintaining focus and ensuring every task was performed with precision.
“The Soldiers in the unit cared about doing the right thing,” said Capt. Austin Smith, serving as CENTCOM’s customs commander. “Customs work exposes shortcuts fast - one missed inspection can have heavy consequences. I saw NCOs [noncommissioned officers] double-checking work prior to submission, specialists always relying on NCOs instead of guessing. It showed me something about the culture of the 229th. They took ownership.”
The customs mission included preparing U.S. military units for redeployment back to the United States.
“We enabled safe redeployment of combat power back to the United States,” Smith said. “Every single vehicle, container, Soldier redeploying back CONUS [contiguous United States] from the CENTCOM AOR [area of responsibility] was cleared by the 229th.”
Overall, the metrics for the 229th’s mission are impressive. Smith said his team cleared about 34,000 personnel, 148,000 bags and 50,000 containers and pieces of equipment during more than 3,400 missions. The value of equipment cleared totaled about $24 billion.
“The mission was not a textbook MP mission. It’s policy-heavy, inspection-driven, regulatory and very detail-oriented,” Smith explained. “I learned that my Soldiers could interpret complex customs guidance and execute it professionally. They were able to operate successfully with minimal supervision at the customs sites and adapt quickly when guidance shifted or timelines altered.”
Smith expressed his admiration for his Soldiers and his confidence that their experience will benefit the entire Virginia National Guard organization.
“The 229th MPs demonstrated resilience, adaptability and professional growth,” Smith said. “This deployment strengthens each Soldier in the formation, bringing increased deployment experience back stateside to the Virginia Army National Guard, growing the capabilities and lethality of the Soldiers.”
The 229th is the Virginia National Guard’s only military police company after it was consolidated with the 266th Military Police Company in May 2017. In addition to their recent deployment, 229th Soldiers supported security operations in Charlottesville in August 2017, at the presidential inauguration in January 2021 and during Operation Allies Welcome at Fort Barfoot from August 2021 to February 2022. They also have shared their expertise with checkpoint security operations during exchanges with the Republic of Tajikistan in February 2024 and April 2023.