MP's don't go on ambush patrol !  I arrived in Vietnam in the latter part of August 1967 and was assigned as a squad leader to 2nd Platoon, C Company. I had been in the Army for fifteen years at this juncture, most of it in the military police, and had served all over the world including Germany and Italy as well as state side. Even a war zone was not new to me as I had served in Korea, in 1951.

          We had many different kinds of duty in the year I was there. For instance we were the reaction force for attacks on vehicles on Highway 1A. We also reacted to attacks on the camps ammo dump and assisted Vietnamese Police at road blocks in and around Saigon. The duty I was not prepared for began in November, 1967. There were two villages and a lot of open fields between Long Binh Post and the river. Earlier, the U.S. infantry had responsibility for the area but it was decided that the job should go to the 720th. I first became personally aware of the new responsibility when I was approached by Captain Edmonds, Commanding Officer of C Company. He said, "Sergeant Dennison, get your squad ready, you're going on ambush patrol tonight." I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

SSG Charles D. Denniston, C Company, 720th MP Battalion, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade, August 1967 to August 1968.

        During the three year history of Operation STABILIZE the men of the 720th MP Battalion A, B and C Company and the 615th MP Company (subordinate), took great pride in the unique responsibility given to the first MPs in the Corps history to be assigned an infantry mission.

        To display this pride the MPs of the ambush teams from almost every tour designed and wore unofficial patches to identify their elite assignment.

 

1967 - 615th MP Company Ambush & Recon Patrol

 

1969-1970 B Company Ambush Platoon

        Let’s hope that this history of the ambush and recon duties of the 720th MP Battalion gives everyone a better insight to the unique and historical mission that the Military Police performed in this different war in Vietnam.

        The lessons learned in the Vietnam War eventually built the foundation for the future missions of the MP Corps and the 720th MP Battalion"Soldiers Of The Gauntlet," for years to come.

Thomas T. Watson, History Project & Website Manager, Squad Leader, Ambush Team #76, B Company, 720th MP Battalion, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade, March 1968 to March 1969.