89th Military Police Brigade History

    The 89th Military Police Brigade is a major subordinate command of III Corps. The 89th Military Police Brigade is a combat ready, deployable force which stands ready to support worldwide contingency operations. During peacetime, it conducts daily 24-hour continuous enforcement and security support to the community of Fort Hood. The brigade's primary mission is to support III Corps as a major subordinate command in peace and in war. Additionally, the 89th MP Brigade and its subordinate units are prepared, if called, to support other major headquarters for contingency missions on a worldwide basis.

    The mission of the 89th Military Police Brigade is to alert, marshal, and deploy MP units anywhere in the world to provide combat military police support to III Corps during war and contingency operations. The unit is also tasked with providing law enforcement and community assistance to the soldiers, families, and visitors to III Corps and Fort Hood.

    The brigade is composed of active, reserve and National Guard units. Under the 89th MP Brigade's command and control, these units provide maneuver and mobility support, area security, internment and resettlement, police intelligence and law enforcement operations in support of III Corps in times of war.

    The 89th Military Brigade has units at several locations. Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 89th Military Police Brigade, 720th Military Police Battalion, and the 178th Military Police Detachment are all located at Fort Hood, Tx. The 978th Military Police Company is also in Texas at FT Bliss. The 759th Military Police Battalion is located at Fort Carson, CO. Two companies, 300th Military Police Company and 977th Military Police Company are located at Fort Riley, KS. And the 463rd Military Police Company is at Fort Leonardwood, MI.

    The military police soldiers assigned to the brigade have the unique opportunity to perform the full spectrum of military police jobs which are available at Fort Hood. During peacetime operations, the brigade provides daily law enforcement support and community assistance to the soldiers, civilian workforce, families and visitors to III Corps and Fort Hood. This support is a combined effort of the two division military police companies, the 720th Military Police Battalion, the 178th Military Police Company and the military and civilian workforce assigned to the office of the III Corps and Fort Hood provost marshal. This support includes criminal investigations, traffic enforcement and accident investigation, community education, crime prevention, physical security, support to U.S. Customs, Special Reaction Team, confinement and prisoner escort, police patrols, police reports and records and military working dogs operations.

    The 89th MP Brigade is a unique organization with a long history. The 89th Military Police Group was constituted in the Regular Army on 19 FEB 66 and activated on 15 MAR 66 in the Republic of Vietnam. The mission of the 89th MP Group was to provide general MP support for the III and IV Corps Tactical Zones. With the removal of US forces from Vietnam, the organization was inactivated on 21 DEC 71. On 13 SEP 72 the unit was activated at Fort Lewis, Washington. The 89th Military Police Group was designed to command and control the operations of three to five MP Battalions and other assigned or attached units. Additionally, it provided a Provost Marshal Staff Section to the Corps headquarters when assigned as the senior military police organization.

    The 89th Military Police Group remained at Fort Lewis until 21 FEB 76 when the colors were transferred to Fort Hood, Texas. On 16 JUL 81 the 89th Military Police Group was reorganized as the 89th Military Police Brigade.

    The 89th Military Police Brigade has deployed around the world in support of US Army missions everywhere, whether during war or humanitarian service. The soldiers of the 89th MP Brigade have found themselves supporting operations in Honduras, Panama, Cuba, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Virgin Islands, and most recently in Bosnia and Hungary. Such operations include Desert Shield and Desert Storm 1990-91; disaster relief after Hurricane Hugo 1993; and most recently, Operation Sea Signal in support of JTF-160 in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, JUN-NOV 1994.

    The Distinctive Unit Insignia was originally approved for the 89th Military Police Group on 4 Oct 68, then re-designated for the 89th Military Police Brigade on 20 Oct 1981. It consists of a green enamel oriental dragon's head grasping in its mouth a stalk of gold bamboo fired a red enamel flame at both ends and supporting an arched black enamel scroll bearing the inscription "PROVEN IN BATTLE" in gold letters. Gold and green are the colors used for the Military Police. The dragon, a fierce adversary, is the heraldic symbol for defender of the lawful leader, and denotes Vietnam, where the unit was activated. The black scroll represents law, jurisdiction and jurisprudence, and the flames allude to the unit's many combat engagements.

    The Shoulder insignia was approved on 20 Oct 1981, consisting of a disc within a yellow border, nine vertical alternating green and yellow stripes and centered thereon a scarlet eight pointed star, bearing at center overall a white sword point up surmounted by a yellow dragon's head. Yellow and green are the colors associated with Military Police. The star is symbolic of courage and law enforcement. The eight points and the nine stripes suggest the unit's numerical designation. The sword represents military justice, law and order. The dragon represents authority and guardianship and alludes to the unit's activation in the Republic of Vietnam.

    Personnel from the 89th Military Police Brigade were deployed in January 2002 at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to serve as the headquarters element for Joint Task Force 160. They were replaced in May 2002 by personnel from the 43rd Military Police Brigade from the Rhode Island National Guard. The unit of the 89th MP Brigade that deployed was the 401st Military Police Company, Fort Hood, TX, assigned to the 720th MP Battalion.

    The 89th MP Brigade deployed to Iraq early 2004, where it took over the mission previously tasked to the 18th MP Brigade on January 31, 2004. At that time the Brigade assumed responsibility for the Iraqi Police Training mission as well as the majority of all the Military Police Units in Iraq at that time. The unit returned to Fort Hood on Dec 2004.

    The 89^th Military Police Brigade has currently been deployed since Aug 06 to the Iraqi Theater of operation in support of OIF 06-08.