Photo By Adam Holguin | Soldiers assigned to the 361st Military Police Company walk from the airplane that...... read more read more
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FORT BLISS, Texas -- The 361st Military Police Company, a U.S. Army Reserve unit from Ashley, Pennsylvania, arrived to Fort Bliss, Texas from Guantanamo Naval Base, Cuba, July 7, after completing a nine-month detainee internment/resettlement mission.
The unit will complete the demobilization process with the Mobilization and Deployment branch of the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security before returning to their home of records across Pennsylvania and the East Coast.
Capt. John Smith, commander, 361st MP Company, like all the Soldiers in the unit, was happy to be back on American soil after a trying deployment.
“It was a mission that has a great strategic significance there at Guantanamo Bay,” said Smith. “The eyes of the world are on us and the soldiers performed, near flawlessly, if not flawlessly.”
“They took on one of the most difficult missions that the United States government, the Department of Defense and any MP company can,” continued Smith. “We worked inside of the Department of Defense’s only strategic detention facility in the entire inventory. There is no other facility like it and it is unlike any other detention operations missions that any of these soldiers have ever seen before.”
Two of the difficulties that a mission at Guantanamo Naval Base provide soldiers are what is referred to as the “fishbowl effect” and the “Groundhog Day syndrome.”
“You are under a real close microscope [fishbowl effect], and every day is the same day, nothing changes [Groundhog Day syndrome], these can lead to complacency if you don’t pay attention, but we have a lot of great noncommissioned officers that kept the Soldiers moving - changed things up a little so they would not get complacent,” said Staff Sgt. Tabitha Geiger, 1st squad leader, 1st platoon, 361st MP Company.
In addition to these challenges, the shift work is another challenge these MPs had to overcome.
“The days are long, there are just days when you are tired,” said Staff Sgt. Michael Kemp, 6th squad leader, 1st platoon, 361st MP Company. “You are working 12 hours and then you get off and you have a couple of hours, so you are looking at 14 hour days.”
“On the days that you have off, you are definitely cherishing them,” Kemp continued.
The Caribbean environment and the abundance of Morale, Welfare, and Recreation offerings did allow for Soldiers to maximize their downtime with a variety of offerings.
Outings to the beach, trips on a boat and intramural sports all helped in releasing the stresses of the mission, but it also helped in the team building throughout the unit.
“Towards the end we ended up with a Frisbee group, they played Ultimate Frisbee - 2nd platoon against 1st platoon and then they divided them up with offense and defense against each other,” said Geiger.
“A healthy competition and rivalry can go a long way,” Smith said. “The squads would actually compete against each other, building that trust within the competitive spirit of the sporting activities, they came together in groups, as a family, in the more recreational activities.”
After nine months together on an island, the Soldiers of the 361st MP Company are ready to return to their families and loved ones, proud of the accomplishments and service they have provided their country.
“They did exactly what their country asked them to do and did it better than I could have ever imagined,” said Smith, “I am proud to say that they are my soldiers and I am proud to have had the opportunity to serve with them.”
| Date Taken: | 07.16.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 07.17.2015 13:29 |
| Story ID: | 170350 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TX, US |
| Hometown: | ASHLEY, PA, US |
| Web Views: | 380 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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