SYKESVILLE, Md. – Family members, friends, military leaders and community supporters gathered to recognize more than 100 Maryland National Guard Soldiers assigned to the 29th Military Police Company as they prepared to deploy in support of U.S. Southern Command, or SOUTHCOM, priorities.
Maj. Gen. Janeen L. Birckhead, adjutant general of the Maryland National Guard, hosted the deployment ceremony at the Major General Linda L. Singh Readiness Center.
“The mission ahead is complex and directly related to America’s security priorities,” Birckhead said at the May 23 ceremony. “That is a big job, and they are up to the task.”
Birckhead highlighted the company’s extensive preparation for deployment, including back-to-back training rotations at the Exportable Combat Training Capability in Mississippi in 2024 and the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, last year.
The deployment marks one of the company’s largest overseas missions since the height of the Global War on Terror. Since 1946, the company has supported both federal combat operations and domestic emergency response missions.
“Strength and honor have been the hallmark of the 29th Military Police Company for nearly 80 years, forging its legacy through one test after another,” Birckhead said. “These are men and women who bring order to uncertainty, who bring calm when people are afraid, and who run to the problem instead of away from it. These are the men and women who are committed to doing what is right.”
Col. Adam J. Tiffen, commander of the 58th Troop Command, spoke directly to the families, acknowledging their sacrifices.
“What your soldiers are about to do is important,” Tiffin said. “It matters, but what you are about to do here at home matters just as much. You are the reason they can focus on their mission. You are the half of the deployment that doesn’t get a ceremony, that doesn’t get a ribbon, that doesn’t get a welcome home, doesn’t get a formation, but we see you, we’ve been where you are, and we know what this costs.”
During the last 25 years, the unit deployed in support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and participated in NATO peacekeeping missions in Kosovo. Domestically, the unit has responded to civil disturbances, severe weather emergencies and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Today, we stand at the threshold of a new chapter in the proud lineage of the 29th Military Police Company,” said Lt. Col. Marcus J. Miller, commander of the 115th Military Police Battalion. “In a world that may prefer comfort and to be on the sidelines, this formation has stepped forward. You are stepping away from your civilian careers, your daily routines and the familiar rhythm of home to answer a call that demands the very best of you.”
1st Lt. Ronnan S. Rodas, commander of the 29th MP Company, said the company spent the last year reorganizing and integrating personnel from other units with different military specialties to meet the deployment requirements. Several Soldiers attended military police reclassification courses specifically to join the mission.
“We'll deploy as a composite kind of a makeshift company,” Rodas said. “Starting today, we are one company. We are the 29th. We will return as one company, as one family, one mission, one fight.”
According to Rodas, overcoming the adversity of a demanding training schedule and deployment preparations, on top of state activations and a large-scale exercise in Croatia with their Department of War National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program counterparts from Bosnia and Herzegovina, helped the unit be ready for their mission.
“One of my mentors, Brig. Gen. Collins, used to tell me, ‘Luck is when preparation meets opportunity,’ and we have prepared,” Rodas said. “We are prepared to meet this moment. We are ready to seize this opportunity, project professionalism, execute and play our part in the grander U.S. strategy within the U.S. SOUTHCOM area of operations.”