525th gets ready to fight

Photo By Zachary Harris | Army Pvt. Wayne Hodge, assigned to the 525th Military Police Battalion at Joint Task Force Guantanamo, conducts a maintenance inspection of a Humvee during try-outs for the MP Warfighter Competition, May 14. Hodge and 12 Soldiers competed for a spot on the 3-man team that will represent the 525th MP Battalion later this year. JTF Guantanamo conducts safe, humane, legal and transparent care and custody of detainees, including those convicted by military commission and those ordered released by a court. The JTF conducts intelligence collection, analysis and dissemination for the protection of detainees and personnel working in JTF Guantanamo facilities and in support of the War on Terror. JTF Guantanamo provides support to the Office of Military Commissions, to law enforcement and to war crimes investigations. The JTF conducts planning for and, on order, responds to Caribbean mass migration operations.  

GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA

05.28.2010

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Zachary Harris 

Joint Task Force Guantanamo Public Affairs

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba -- While September is still months away, Soldiers with the Army's 525th Military Police Battalion at Joint Task Force Guantanamo have already begun to prepare for the 69th annual Military Police Warfighter Competition, held every year at the United States Army Military Police School at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.

Some 34 teams comprising the best of the best from Army MP companies around the United States will compete this year.

To select a team, 13 Soldiers from the 525th competed in events including marksmanship, vehicle inspection, tire-flipping and a ruck march. One non-commissioned officer and two E-4-and-below Soldiers will represent the battalion this year, with two Soldiers as alternates.

The selection began at 4 a.m. with a fitness test consisting of two minutes of push-ups and sit-ups. The competitors then proceeded directly into a 3.8 mile run in their Army Combat Uniforms. The MPs also completed a Gator 4-by-4 vehicle push-and-pull event and a timed weapons assembly challenge.

Over the course of the next three months the Soldiers will train as a team to reinforce cohesion and prepare for the challenges ahead, which will remain unknown until the start of the competition.

525th MP Battalion Command Sgt. Maj. Steven Raines said choosing the events for the try-outs can be tricky due to the unknown nature of the warfighter competition's challenges.

"It's always rotating," said Raines. "We try to select based off of previous competitions. We know there's going to be a ruck march and a Humvee push."

Pvt. Wayne Hodge, one of the 13 Soldiers who earned a spot on the team, thought the experience would help him become a better Soldier and prepare him for his future career.

"It's real good training, it refreshes your memory and it's all useful," said Hodge. "I might want to go [to Ranger School] down the road and I thought this would be good practice."

Army Sgt. David Tulette, who was primary team member in 2005, and will represent the 525th in this year's competition, said the event builds mission competency and esprit de corps.

"I do it for the training," Tulette said. "It's a great way to motivate the soldiers to perform at a higher level."

Tulette and Hodge will be joined by Army Sgt. William Vieth and Army privates Justin Champion, Darren Rigsby and Brandon Cummings.

• Date Taken: 05.28.2010
• Date Posted: 06.08.2010 10:32
• Story ID: 51064
• Location: GUANTANAMO BAY, CU