Around the clock: 109th MP Battalion sustains protection mission in Europe

POZNAŃ, Poland — At Camp Kościuszko, protection is a 24-hour operation. National Guard Soldiers assigned to the 109th Military Police (MP) Battalion provide law enforcement and protection services for the Soldiers who live and work on the installation.

The 109th MP Battalion supports V Corps operations across Europe, with military police and support personnel operating across multiple locations. That scope means the battalion’s work extends beyond the patrols and security checks most Soldiers see at Camp Kościuszko; it also depends on noncommissioned officers (NCOs) and support specialists who keep personnel, weapons and protective equipment ready.

For the National Guard battalion, the rotation offers something different from the training cycle many of its Soldiers experience back home. Instead of preparing for a future exercise, Soldiers are carrying out the duties they normally train to perform.

The 109th MP Battalion’s Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher Smith oversees the dispersed force and sees the difference between training at home and performing the mission overseas.

“We’re doing a real-world mission right now,” Smith said. “Back home, we focus on training. We focus on what can happen, and then we also deal with state active duty missions; hurricanes, riot response, things like that. Right now, we are actually providing the mission that we’ve been tasked with.”

That work places significant authority in the hands of Soldiers early in their careers.

Smith said junior enlisted military police may conduct a range of law enforcement actions while enforcing U.S. Army standards regardless of the rank of the person involved.

“MPs are a special breed because we have these junior enlisted personnel that are entrusted with enforcing the regulations and the laws on other individuals,” Smith said. “On a day-to-day basis, you’ve got MPs that are doing breathalyzers, they’re doing physical security checks, they’re doing wellness checks, just basically a lot of the same things that a normal police officer would do back home.”

While Smith sees the requirements from the battalion level, they are carried out by Soldiers and NCOs working them day to day. At Camp Kościuszko, Sgt. Jarred Chandler sees that responsibility from closer to the ground, balancing military police duties with the responsibility of looking after the Soldiers beside him.

Chandler works alongside garrison military police at Camp Kościuszko and supports security related movement requirements. As an NCO, he said one responsibility follows him regardless of the assignment: taking care of his Soldiers.

“They are your responsibility,” Chandler said. “Take pride and look after them, you want them to succeed as you succeeded.”

For Chandler, that requires knowing Soldiers beyond what happens during a shift.

“Camaraderie ... go hang out with them, take them out for dinner, whatever games you want,” Chandler said. “Find a connection, and then grow from there so you can know them personally; ask about their family.”

Those connections can carry additional weight overseas. Chandler said being away from home and family may be one of the biggest challenges for younger Soldiers and their first-ever deployment.

Keeping those MPs ready requires more than the Soldiers conducting law enforcement. The battalion also relies on support specialties that maintain equipment and provide capabilities needed to sustain the protection mission.

Spc. Sierra Hinojosa is a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) specialist serving with the battalion. She maintains protective masks and detection equipment and provides CBRN support when needed. At Camp Kościuszko, she has also taken on an additional role as one of the installation’s armorers.

The armorer role surprised Hinojosa, who initially thought it was its own military occupational specialty, or MOS.

“We’re kind of a jack of all trades,” Hinojosa said. “I thought being an armorer was an MOS. I didn’t realize that it was an extra duty, so I was kind of thrown into that. Being one of only three armorers on post, I have to learn all these rules and regulations, and I feel like it’s really good for the resume.”

Hinojosa volunteered for the rotation to gain more experience working in a full-time military environment and prepare herself for future opportunities within the CBRN career field. The unexpected armorer duty has broadened the skills she will take with her when the rotation ends.

“I look for things to do,” Hinojosa said. “I take a little bit more initiative. I take responsibility when I mess up on rare occasions. I wish I had joined at 18, but I’m also glad that I have the life experiences I do.”

Those individual duties, from military police work to equipment and arms-room support, add up to an around-the-clock requirement across the battalion.

Smith said military police maintain a continuous presence across the areas the 109th MP Battalion serves, requiring Soldiers to balance the demands of the job with opportunities to rest when available.

With Soldiers dispersed throughout Europe, Smith said trust is essential to keeping the organization connected.

“You can’t build a foundation without trust,” Smith said. “If I don’t trust that my people can come to me and talk to me, and they don’t trust that I’m going to take that information and actually do something with it, then you can never truly have a cohesive working unit.”

Across Camp Kościuszko, the work may be divided among military police, NCOs and support Soldiers, but Chandler described the purpose in simple terms: being responsible for the safety and well-being of Soldiers on post.

Whether that responsibility is carried on patrol, from a desk or through the support work that keeps Soldiers equipped, each part helps sustain the 109th MP Battalion’s protection mission around the clock.

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