By Spc. Opal Vaughn
14th Public Affairs Detachment
KADASIA, Iraq – They are physically fit, mentally tough and thoroughly trained in everything they do. Dating back to the 1940's, these Soldiers come from a long history of motivated military policemen that served with pride. Based out of Wiesbaden, Germany, the Soldiers of the 501st Military Police Company, 1st Armored Division stand strong as a testimony of living history in being the Iron MP's, Old Ironsides' last divisional MP's.
"Dismount on left. Prepare to dismount," Sgt. Joseph Shannonhouse, a Plymouth, N.C. native, utters through the radio.
After they dismounted their vehicles in the Kadasia neighborhood, the Iron MP's hit the pavement to talk with the local residents and ask questions to improve their living environments, May 23.
The humanitarian efforts of the Iron MP's include, but are not restricted to, central services, emergency, water and electrical needs of the local populous.
The needs of the community are broken down by colors: green, yellow and red. Green is, "go," for good. This section of the neighborhood is taken care of and needs little to no assistance except for security needs. The color yellow stands for, "iffy." There are needs in this section of the community that require attention such as supply needs. Lastly, red is for those communities that require a lot of attention, Shannonhouse said.
A vehicle driver for the unit, Spc. Heather Maynard, recalled the day prior when the they were able to assist with the repair of a water vein. While patrolling their sectors of the community, one of the Soldiers of the dismount team noticed a water vein was broken and spilling into the street, wasting valuable water needed by the people of Kadasia, she mentioned.
In order to temporarily alleviate the problem, 1st Sgt. Jon Matthews, a Las Vegas, Nev., native, acting as a spokesperson for the Iron MP's, got out of his vehicle with an old sports drink bottle and some duck tape and fixed the leak, said Maynard.
A leaky water vein is just one of the problems that have been taken care of. Households that have men out of work, or even men with work who are not being paid, are a big problem in the community.
Continuing to take the extra step to ensure that all of Kadasia is taken care of is important to the Iron MP's. "We take pride in our mission and our job," smiles Shannonhouse. "We try to change the way the people of Kadasia look at the U.S. as a whole."
"Interacting with the local community lets them know that we, Soldiers, are people too," Matthews said. "Because of the constant interaction with the community, most of Kadasia is receptive and understand that the Soldiers are there to help."
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