Photo By Sgt. Kandi Huggins | Law and Order: Pvt. Adam Young, a military policeman from Prospect, Ky., serving with...... read more read more
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CONTINGENCY OPERATING SITE WARRIOR, Iraq – Integrity, by definition, is the quality of being unimpaired and sound, with an adherence to a strict moral or ethical code. As the sixth Army Value, integrity means doing what is both ethically and morally right.
Prt. Adam Young, a military policeman serving with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Advise and Assist Task Force, 1st Infantry Division, said integrity is the number one Army Value he tries to uphold.
Soldiers should do the right thing even when no one is looking, Young said.
“I try to do it to the best of my ability, to think about the outcome of certain things,” said the Prospect, Ky., native. “I look at other people, at their mistakes and successes, and evaluate that to use in my own terms of progression and success.”
Military policemen, in particular, face many situations where they have the opportunity of doing the wrong thing, and thus integrity should be the number one quality they possess, he said.
“For instance, if you do a drug bust and you don’t have 100 percent integrity, the wrong MP could take it and use it for personal gain,” explained Young. “Even if the person is your best friend, you have to have integrity and duty to do the right thing, to process him and take him in.”
Inspired to join the military by his grandparents, and motivated as an MP to help others, Young helps ensure troops and civilians at Contingency Operating Site Warrior remain safe.
“I’m part of what you could call ‘force protection,’ but really it’s more like law and order,” said Young. “We patrol the COS to look for crimes in progress and wait for crimes to be reported to go to the scene, solve and fix the problem. We’re safety and security.”
Some aspects of his job include conducting traffic control points, walking patrols and static traffic enforcements to help maintain a presence throughout COS Warrior, which Young said often prevents crimes from happening.
Looking from an outside perspective, Young said he does not see himself as doing anything extraordinary, he just has to be in the right place at the right time.
Aside from being an asset in the protection of the lives on COS Warrior, Young has proven to be an asset within the MPs as well.
Young’s desire to help others and fulfill his duties makes him stand out, said Staff Sgt. Sean Noranbrock, a squad leader within the MP company.
Noranbrock said Young is a hard working, dedicated Soldier who asks questions and seeks higher guidance in order to gain more knowledge.
While Young does what a normal Soldier would do, Noranbrock said Young differs because he takes the extra steps to improve himself.
“Young exemplifies the MP Corps by consistently showing there are Soldiers out there doing the right thing, no matter what,” said Noranbrock, a native of Baltimore. “He exudes all of the Army values—integrity, personal courage in being able to set standards high and maintain them, and the selfless service to honor and uphold those values as an MP.”
While not perfect, Noranbrock said Young helps his unit by using his knowledge and past deployment experience to mentor fellow soldiers.
“Young gained a plethora of knowledge he’s been able to pass on to his peers,” said Noranbrock. “Instead of having a soldier standing next to him and not knowing what to do, Young will tell them the right way to do things. He helps bring his fellow soldiers into the knowledge and experiences he’s had.”
Previously deployed with the 300th MP Company, 97th MP Battalion, 1st Inf. Div., to Baghdad, Young recalled going on missions to help local Iraqi police better themselves as policemen.
“It was stressful in the beginning, but in the end it was just like everything else,” said Young. “If you do it enough, it becomes easy and you don’t think about it, you just do it.”
Young said after arriving at COS Warrior, he helped to refine tactics for responding to certain situations. For example, rather than driving directly to a location such as a house, Young encouraged MPs to take a moment to look and listen before moving in.
Now supporting 1st AATF’s advise, train and assist mission during Operation New Dawn, Young said he helps fulfill the mission by protecting the brigade’s greatest asset—its soldiers.
“I’m here to help protect soldiers when they’re trying to relax and recover from missions,” said Young. “That’s when they are most vulnerable.”
“MPs didn’t choose this job to be bullies or come after them for no reason,” he said. “I could be the one out of a million MPs in the world, but I chose this job and I am here to help make their lives better. When they’re done with mission, when they come home and try to relax, we’re here to protect them and make sure the soldiers are safe at home.”
| Date Taken: | 06.07.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 06.09.2011 06:01 |
| Story ID: | 71843 |
| Location: | CONTINGENCY OPERATING STATION WARRIOR, IQ |
| Web Views: | 90 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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