323rd MP Company returns from D.C. mission: Toledo unit keeps pace with multiple deployments in past year

Photo By Tech. Sgt. Kregg York | Pfc. Vincent Doran, a Soldier with the Ohio Army National Guard’s 323rd Military Police Company, holds the unit guidon during a formation at the Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur Readiness Center in Toledo, Ohio, March 11, 2021, after returning from a deployment to Washington, D.C. The 323rd deployed approximately 150 MPs to the nation’s capital, where they assisted at various locations to enforce security, protect lives and preserve critical infrastructure. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Kregg York)  

TOLEDO, OH, UNITED STATES

03.16.2021

Story by Stephanie Beougher 

Ohio National Guard Public Affairs

The past 12 months have been busy for the Ohio Army National Guard’s 323rd Military Police Company with five different short-notice deployments to support state and federal missions.

The company based in Toledo first deployed in April 2020 to support the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to augment staffing shortages due to COVID-19. The following month, after disturbances erupted during ongoing protests, the 323rd was activated as part of the National Guard Response Force to assist law enforcement in Columbus and Cleveland. That was followed in September with a mission to support the presidential debate in Cleveland, and then in January of this year during the presidential inauguration, a mission to assist with security at the Ohio Statehouse.

“Soldiers at every level have stepped up this past year on short notice to do missions, and each time they have answered the call,” said Capt. Tyler Craport of the 323rd.

Craport recently led about 150 of the unit’s MPs during a deployment to assist with enduring security needs in the Washington D.C. area. The Guard members were deployed Jan. 27 on federal Title 32 502(f) status to assist federal and District of Columbia authorities. Duties included overseeing security at entry points to the U.S. Supreme Court building.

“We were operating in a critical security area around the Capitol area, and our Soldiers were able to utilize the training they’ve received to assist in a real-world mission,” Craport said. “Morale was high during the operations and everyone did great.”

First Sgt. Pamela Kucinsky, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the mission, said all who deployed represented the state well and their performance speaks to the high caliber of the trained Citizen-Soldiers who make up the unit.

“We’ve asked a lot of them and they’ve gladly obliged,” Kucinsky said. “Even with the call-up, there were many who were still balancing school work or training for the new Army Combat Fitness Test, and, so, they adapted to meet all of their obligations.”

While most of the 323rd MP Company returned on March 11, about 30 of the Soldiers have voluntarily answered the call to continue the mission in D.C.

• Date Taken: 03.16.2021
• Date Posted: 12.31.2021 23:45
• Story ID: 412306
• Location: TOLEDO, OH, US