Photo By Sgt. William Hill | Soldiers from the 384th Military Police Company, headquartered in Bloomington, Ind.,...... read more read more
CAMP ATTERBURY JOINT MANEUVER TRAINING CENTER, Ind. — The only list that some people are checking twice these days has nothing to do with Santa Claus. Soldiers from the Indiana National Guard's 384th Military Police Company have recently returned from their one-year deployment to Iraq and they're speedily checking their list of out-processing requirements at Camp Atterbury to ensure they get home in time for the holidays.
Because of snowstorms on the East Coast, the unit's arrival to Indiana was delayed many times, but the soldiers finally touched ground early Tuesday morning and were loaded onto buses headed to Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center for their demobilization process.
The 384th, headquartered in Bloomington, Ind., deployed to Iraq in January 2009 and was responsible for the teaching and mentoring of Iraqi police officers as part of a police transition team.
The commander, Capt. Joseph Cottone of Osgood, Ind., said the unit completed more than 924 police transition team missions and validated 22 out of 24 Iraqi police stations, meaning that those police stations are certified to work on their own.
"We had a good deployment overall," Cottone said. "It was due to the melting pot of soldiers we had. We're made up of seven different companies ... They each had a unique skill set that made for a successful mission."
First Sgt. Christopher Warren of Hillsdale, Mich., agreed that overall the unit had a successful deployment.
"We brought everybody home safe," Warren said, citing one reason for mission success.
Warren said great teamwork also contributed to their accomplishments.
"We brought different people from different units and they worked well as a team," he said.
Warren said the unit performed so well that they received special recognition for the training they implemented.
"[The leadership has] mirrored the police academy we had at the [forward operating base] we stayed at and they're pushing that out to all of the other FOBs to go do what we were doing," he said.
"They honestly did a great job," Warren said. "No matter what, the mission was always first."
For most soldiers, one of the challenges during a deployment is missing family and friends. Spc. Kelly Yarde from Evansville, Ind., did not have that problem at all considering she took her Dad with her. Dad, Staff Sgt. Kelly Yarde, actually changed his military occupational skill to become a military police officer like his three kids - His three daughters.
"It was just one of those things where one daughter became an MP another daughter became an MP and then the other daughter. I was the last one to join in."
Priority one on his list when he gets home is visiting a local eatery.
"I'm getting a pizza at Turoni's!" he said. "They've got the best pizza."
For Spc. Vincent Mercaldo of Atlanta, Ga., it isn't food he fantasizes about. Mercaldo is more interested in quenching his thirst.
"I'm getting a beer!" he said. First things first.
| Date Taken: | 12.22.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 12.24.2009 09:22 |
| Story ID: | 43121 |
| Location: | CAMP ATTERBURY, IN, US |
| Web Views: | 307 |
| Downloads: | 227 |
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