Photo By Staff Sgt. Casey Hustin | FORT RILEY, Kansas— 23 Soldiers with the 97th Military Police Battalion, 89th...... read more read more
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FORT RILEY, Kansas — More than 20 Soldiers with the 97th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade, departed Fort Riley on a bus beginning Feb. 17, embarking on a road trip toward a flight to Hohenfels, Germany, which departed Feb. 18, from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and arrived the following morning.
Along the way, at a McDonalds in Kingdom City, Missouri, Spc. Mason J. Gasaway, a team leader with the 977th Military Police Company, 97th MP Battalion, was promoted to corporal.
“It’s going well,” Cpl. Gasaway said. “We are staying busy so the days are going by fast.”
While deployed, the MPs will conduct road patrols and peacekeeping missions.
“Morale is up and down, and we’re all doing the best we can to keep it high, so everyone will work toward the mission,” he said.
The tireless movement included an 18-hour drive, a day of loading and unloading gear which culminated in boarding an Atlas airplane that would fly the MPs directly into a three-week training cycle—where their nine-month deployment would start with Kosovo Force 24, a NATO-led international peacekeeping force, at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo.
“I’m feeling good,” said 1st Lt. Anthony J. Sinagoga, 3rd Platoon Leader with the 977th MP Co. “Obviously, I’m going to miss my family, my wife and my unborn child, but we have a mission to do. I’ve got great Soldiers and I’m excited about the opportunities that we’re going to have.”
The MPs have been preparing for this journey for the last year and ramped up readiness training in October 2017 for the deployment.
“We are as ready as we could possibly be for this mission,” Sinagoga said, adding his Soldiers are “mentally, physically and emotionally capable of doing what needs to be done.”
Spc. James C. Mason Jr., a Military Policeman with the 97th MP Bn. spoke determinedly about the upcoming months.
“I’m happy, nervous and really excited to see what the unknown holds,” Mason said. “I’m always happy to see what the next day brings.”
| Date Taken: | 02.17.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 03.15.2018 14:45 |
| Story ID: | 269534 |
| Location: | FORT RILEY, KS, US |
| Web Views: | 496 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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