Photo By Adam Holguin | The thanksgiving meal provided to Soldiers of the 324th Military Police Battalion...... read more read more
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FORT BLISS, Texas - After completing a nine-month deployment to Guantanamo Naval Base, Cuba, the 324th Military Police Battalion, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, a U.S. Army Reserve unit out of Fresno, California, returned stateside November 26, arriving at the Silas L. Copeland Arrival Departure Control Group airfield in the final hours of Thanksgiving. The unit will complete the demobilization process with the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization, and Security before returning to their respective home of records prior to the remaining holidays this winter.
“They did a great job, they had a really important mission down there at Gitmo, a really critical job,” said Brig. Gen. Kelly Wakefield, deputy commanding general for support, 200th Military Police Command who came down to Fort Bliss on Thanksgiving to welcome the battalion home.
“We all have a lot to be grateful for today, and we are all grateful that they are back here,” Kelly continued.
The battalion completed a mission that had a few different components, as the HHC of the battalion, they set in place as the command element for other units at Guantanamo. Additionally, they provided custody and control of detainees, escort services, and external security for the area of operations said Lt. Col. Elvis Hugee, battalion commander, 324th MP Bn.
For Lt Col. Michael Spillane, physician assistant, 324th MP Bn., his fourth deployment was a busy one, working in the Troopers Clinic as part of the medical section, keeping Soldiers healthy so they could complete their jobs.
“We’d take care of sick calls, appointments, sports injuries, normal colds, fever and flus,” Spillane said. “On a typical day we saw 20-30 patients, it was a bit non-stop, its long days, but that’s what you do to get the mission done.”
In addition to completing mission objectives, the unit utilized the time on this mission for self-improvement.
“All the noncommissioned officers completed their next level of Structured Self-Development, we increased our Army Physical fitness test scores height-weight compliance and everybody qualified at the rifle range before we left,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey N. Thomsen, battalion command sergeant major, 324th MP Bn. “We had a lot of soldier goals that we met while we were there.”
Hugee continued on the success of the younger Soldiers had on this deployment.
“We had quite a few people get promoted because they did go to school and others that are in line for promotion,” Hugee said. “We had a lot of privates and specialists, most of the ranks went up to sergeant, but we also had five that promoted to staff sergeant, two get promoted to master sergeant, a lieutenant promoted to captain, and a major to lieutenant colonel.”
Coming back with a more rank than you departed with is always a goal of deploying units, the 324th MP Bn. definitely met that objective over the course of their time in Guantanamo.
Although not quite home, returning to American soil from a deployment on Thanksgiving was a positive for many of the returning Soldiers all of whom were greeted with a Thanksgiving meal at the Silas L. Copeland ADACG.
“It’s a bit storybook, a good marker for the future, I’ll always remember the time I got back on Thanksgiving,” said Capt. Jeremy Quiahuiz, commander HHC, 324th MP Bn. “It’s nice that we are still together as a team and as a unit so that makes it a little easier to come in on a family holiday, we got our army family to help get through it.”
“Best Thanksgiving there ever was, (coming home from) Gitmo,” Spillane said.
| Date Taken: | 12.10.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 12.14.2015 16:48 |
| Story ID: | 184491 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TEXAS, US |
| Hometown: | FRESNO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 721 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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