720th
March 2007 Battalion Time Line
~ 720th Military Police Battalion Reunion Association History Project ~
89th Bde.
This Page Last Updated ~ 6 October 2008
 
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HHD

2 March HQ Detachment (Vanguard) of the 720th MP Battalion departed Fort Hood, Texas for deployment to Baghdad, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 07-09. After a 20 hour flight Vanguard landed in Kuwait where they spent two weeks on pre-theatre training and orientation before a flight via a C-130 to Baghdad International Airport. Vanguard began setting up their compound at Camp Stryker.
 
14 March 410th MP Company (Bravo Spirit) One of the many assignments of the 410th is to conduct route security for a regular convoy assignment from Camp Victory to a new Joint Security Station staffed by Iraqi National Police and Coalition Forces in the Ghazaliyah suburb of Baghdad. The 410th's MP's are attacked "on a regular basis" with small arms fire or improvised explosive devices along the route. Once there the MP’s provide added security at the joint station as they conduct training classes for the Iraqi Police.
 
30 March HQ Detachment (Vanguard), 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade, assumed authority for the training of the Iraqi police in Multi-National Division – Center South during a ceremony in the foyer of the 89th Military Police Brigade Headquarters, Iraq.
 
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     Commander of the 89th MP Brigade, COL Mike Galloucis, spoke at the event. "All the superb Soldiers, noncommissioned officers and officers in your battalion headquarters are perfectly matched against the challenges you will face in the next year, serving in the newly-established Multi-National Division – Center sector."

     Battalion CSM J. Drew Craig stated that in the coming year, "they hope to teaching the Iraqi police more advanced skills, such as setting up shifts for their personnel, accountability, inspections, logistics and leadership."
 
     Originally scheduled to deploy this summer, the 720th MP Battalion's deployment cycle was accelerated to fulfill the demand for a command and control element over the higher number of MP companies in Iraq. The Battalion will assume responsibility for eight units and the mission of providing military police support to the 3rd Infantry Division.
3rd ID