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    514th Military Police Company celebrates homecoming

    514th Military Police Company celebrates homecoming

    Photo By Spc. Marilyn Spencer | Soldiers assigned to the 514th Military Police Company sing the Army Song during the...... read more read more

    GREENVILLE, NC, UNITED STATES

    08.03.2013

    Courtesy Story

    382nd Public Affairs Detachment

    GREENVILLE, N.C. - The North Carolina National Guard’s 514th Military Police Company enjoyed a hard-earned celebration, Aug. 3 as the unit’s 120 soldiers were greeted by N.C. National Guard senior leaders, members of Pitt County government and family and friends at its welcome home ceremony at the Hilton Hotel in Greenville, N.C.

    “The 514th worked hard, focused on their mission, and furthered the efforts and ideals of our Constitution and our American way of life.” said Brig. Gen. Tony McMillan, the NCNG’s assistant adjutant general for domestic operations, during the ceremony.

    The 514th, headquartered in Winterville, N.C., deployed to Khost, Afghanistan in 2012 and served as trainers and advisers to the Afghan Uniformed Police force. They helped local officers perform more than 300 police missions throughout the province. Additionally, the unit escorted dozens of military convoys in and around the Bagram and Kabul region, traveling more than 10,000 miles.

    “We overcame a lot of adversity on this mission,” said Staff Sgt. Brandon Williams, one of the 514th platoon sergeants. “We started with an advise-and-assist [mission] with the Afghan police and then regrouped and got sent to Bagram to do one of our MP missions, which is convoy security. You know we adapted and overcame and had a successful mission.”

    Much of the focus Saturday was the next phase of their mission: transitioning from battlefield soldiers back to citizen-soldiers. North Carolina’s National Guard has dedicated a vast amount of resources to ensure soldiers have the tools they need to reintegrate into their families and communities following deployment.

    “We have educational programs and we have programs for people who need jobs,” said Col. Danny Mills, commander of the 60th Troop Command, which oversees the 514th. “We also have the integrated behavioral health system in place if soldiers are having some issues reintegrating into society or with their families and those kinds of things.”

    Soldiers participated in a Yellow Ribbon program prior to the ceremony. The Yellow Ribbon program explains programs now available to these new veterans, from education to employment, and bridges the gap between knowing about to applying for these benefits.

    “I think it’s a great opportunity, the Yellow Ribbon piece was fantastic,” said 1st Lt. Brandon Hough, the company’s headquarters platoon leader. “It’s all the assets that the state makes available to the soldiers returning, to go to school, to get a job, to reintegrate back into society. I think, for example, the education and employment office goes a long way to show that. They have put a ton of staff in there. We have two soldiers who came back who are working in that office. The first soldier placed out of that office was from the 514th and that is kind of putting your money where your mouth is.”

    Early in their tour of duty in Khost, three soldiers: Sgt. Thomas J. Butler IV, Sgt. Jeremy F. Hardison and Staff Sgt. Donna Johnson were killed in action by a suicide bomber. Soldiers in the 514th honored their fallen teammates’ sacrifice by ensuring their names and faces were not forgotten upon the unit’s redeployment. During Saturday’s ceremony their pictures were carried into the ceremony with the rest of the 514th and placed at the front of the room as senior leaders spoke of the three soldiers’ service and dedication.

    Collectively, the 514th received more than 130 military awards for their dedicated service.

    The 514th MPs deployed previously in 1996 in support of Operation Joint Endeavor in Germany. The unit also served in support of Operation Noble Eagle II and again in 2004 in support of Operation Joint Guardian in Kosovo.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 08.03.2013
    Date Posted: 08.13.2013 21:24
    Story ID: 111913
    Location: GREENVILLE, NC, US
    Hometown: RALEIGH, NC, US
    Hometown: WINTERVILLE, NC, US

    Web Views: 756
    Downloads: 0

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