Accompanying the MP's on this patrol was imbedded ABC news anchor (Good Morning America) Chris Como, the son of Marion Cuomo former New York governor. Como was trapped inside one of the damaged Humvees during the firefight. Cuomo had nothing but praise for the way the MP's of the 410th performed under fire. Here are several quotes from Cuomo in a national broadcast with ABC the next day.

   "To a man, no one flinched. They were screaming but screaming orders — not the kind of screaming I was doing that only German shepherds could hear. I have never been more impressed. It's just mind-boggling to me that something that has really shaken me to my very core is something that they absorb, dismiss and then unequivocally say they'll be back tomorrow."

     What impressed him most, Cuomo said, was the way the gunner, still spitting glass from a shattered window, sprang into action without complaint.

21 February, Fort Hood, TX The 720th Military Police Battalion, Headquarters Detachment (Vanguard), held its casing ceremony at Gauntlet Field, Fort Hood, Texas in preparation for the battalion’s third deployment to Baghdad. The primary mission of the detachment is the training of civil Iraqi police forces. Under a program initiated by LTC Frank Y. Rangel, Jr. (Battalion Commander) and provided with the assistance of the Killeen and Copas Grove, Texas Police Departments, every sergeant and junior officer in the upcoming deployment received two weeks of civilian law enforcement training.

22 February, Fort Hood, TX SPC Mark Wilkerson pleaded guilty to desertion and missing movement prior to his unit’s second deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Wilkerson admitted that instead of returning, he terminated his lease, moved all of his belongings to Colorado and changed his cell phone number so his unit was unable to contact him. He remained in Colorado and spent 18 months absent without leave before surrendering himself at Fort Hood Aug. 31, 2006. When Wilkerson returned to Fort Hood the 401st MP Company took him in without judgment or punishment, treating him like a fellow Soldier.

     SPC Wilkerson had enlisted 20 June 2002 to serve a five-year commitment. While admitting his actions were wrong, it was Wilkerson’s contention his actions were the only option left for him to avoid combat.

     SPC Wilkerson had previously served in Iraq with the 401st MP Company. He redeployed the end of March 2004 and thereafter submitted his packet seeking conscientious objector status. He submitted the packet 29 July 2004, and was still awaiting approval when he deserted his unit on 3 January 2005. Wilkerson then requested reassignment to a non-combat role. According to trial counsel CPT Derek Leo, the packet was subsequently denied after Wilkerson’s scheduled deployment.

     With the conscientious objector status packet pending, Wilkerson’s unit accommodated him by placing him in a non-combat role as the unit’s armorer. While deployed, he would have stayed on the base and never faced combat, based on his new assignment. Wilkerson was accommodated to never face combat; he was to work in his unit’s arms room in Iraq. While his company was deployed in Iraq engaged in operations, he was in Colorado Springs.”

     SPC Wilkerson admitted in court he was aware of his unit’s upcoming deployment through briefings, training and the receipt of his orders. He was aware of the importance of his duties and his responsibilities to serve. Wilkerson claimed that the military, for him, was obviously not the right fit, during the general court-martial.

     After deliberation, trial judge COL Alan Cook sentenced Wilkerson to seven months’ confinement in a military facility, reduction in rank to private, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and a bad conduct discharge. Because of a plea agreement, Wilkerson did not face the maximum punishment for his actions; seven years confinement, dishonorable discharge, total forfeiture of pay and allowances and a reduction in rank to private.

2 March, Fort Hood, TX HQ Detachment 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.

     They do it by demonstrating a technique, and then having each student try to mimic them. On this particular day, SPC Matthew Reed is trying to show them how to move forward while covering the area in front of them by waving their AK47 in a box-like motion.

    "Elbows in, feet straight ahead, point your body straight so you make a smaller target," he explains over and over again. Some of the Iraqis get it right. And it has to be said that copying someone like SPC Reed is harder to do when you are wearing loafers or dress shoes rather than combat boots like his. The U.S. soldiers would very much like to get proper boots for their students, but there is a snag somewhere in the pipeline. There's always a snag of some kind, somewhere, it seems. That aside, all of the Iraqis appear to take the training seriously. Whether or not all of them are serious in their loyalty to the force and the government is another matter. It's one that worries the trainers, but over which they have no control. In the past some Iraqi police and soldier recruits have turned out to be insurgent sympathizers and even "moles." Whatever they are, bringing them up to an acceptable standard is a slow process

     "Some of them don't seem to remember it from one day to the next," one of the soldiers said, "but they try, and they're definitely getting better." Whether they can get good enough to do the job on their own soon enough to satisfy the growing clamour in the U.S. for American troops to leave them to it is another matter. No one here is in any doubt that deadlines are more hopeful than realistic. A sergeant summed it up this way: "In time I think, hopefully another year or so, these guys will be ready to go and take the streets on their own so we don't have to be here any more."

      An example of how big a challenge that will be is evident in the front windshield of one of the police cars being hosed down in another part of the grounds. It has fourteen bullet holes in it. Not a single police vehicle in the parking lot is unscathed. But then, one of the Humvees in the convoy that brought the MPs from the 410th to work has been blown up four times. Risking their life is one thing both trainer and trainee definitely have in common here.

     "The first time I was over here, then you knew who the enemy was. Now, you don't really know, says Staff Sergeant Robert Engelemeir. He even concedes what might be taken as a grudging bit of respect for his enemy's abilities. "His tactics have got a lot better, and they're getting a lot better at Improvised-Explosive-Devices, things like that. Not so much small arms fire, but roadside bombs are getting a lot better."

     Several days a week, the soldiers of the 410th MP Company make the treacherous trip to an Iraqi police post that is being turned into one of the Joint Security Stations. It's where American and Iraqi forces will live side-by-side, 24/7, to make the new security plan a reality. Ghazaliyah is arguably the most dangerous of Baghdad's many suburbs. The road leading to it is "interesting," as one of the MPs cheerfully says. The 410th's MPs are attacked "on a regular basis" with small arms fire or Improvised-Explosive-Devices (IED).

     Private First Class Shalimar Fischetti, who answers to the nickname "Fish Sticks," is half-Puerto Rican, half-Italian. Her helmet hides a haircut that would make Sinead O'Connor look hirsute, and she handles the heavily-armored Humvee with deft confidence. Getting off Camp Victory and onto that road takes half an hour. There is a briefing, and the pause at the gate to "lock and load." The driver of the Humvee I'm in hefts a belt-fed machine gun out to slap ammunition in place. It weighs about the same as she does. t's not just driving, she explains. "I have to keep my eyes in the houses for snipers, watch for IEDs, and potholes." It's Fischetti's first deployment in Iraq, but many of the soldiers on this outing are on their second and even third tours. It's different each time.

     The road to Ghazaliyah is an insurgent's idea of the ideal battlefield. Garbage and other refuse ideal for hiding IEDs line the road. Potholes abound. Most of the houses are abandoned, the result of mutual ethnic cleansing by Shiites and Sunnis who used to co-habit there.

     COL Mike Galloucis Commander of the 89th MP Brigade, 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.

     “When we first (assumed duty) on VBC the roads were (wild), and now they are decent.” SPC Ken Gates, a patrolman and traffic accident investigator from the 727th MP Detachment, 720th MP Battalion, 89th MP Brigade. SPC Gates, who works as a police officer in Dolgeville, N.Y. when his unit is not mobilized, gets satisfaction from knowing he has helped people.

     The patrolling police officers work 12-14 hour days that start and end with guard mount briefings where they pass important information on to the next shift. On average they drive about 100 miles in a 12-hour shift. Speeding, seatbelt violations and running stop signs are what they write most of their tickets for. They also perform many additional tasks and duties, including customs inspections and nightly security checks. They also act as first responders to incidents of indirect fire on VBC.

14 June - Fort Hood, TX PVT Derek Austin of the 411th MP Company, 720th MP Battalion, helped LTC Chris Van Dyke and COL Philip Battaglia, III Corps (rear) commander, cut the cake during a celebration of the 232nd birthday of the Army, on Sadowski Field, Fort Hood, Texas.

18 June - Fort Hood, TX The 410th MP Company returned to Fort Hood, Texas from their deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 06-08.

Shukran, Iraq At Forward Operating Base Q-West is SSG Chuck Shuck and his military working dog, SFC Gabe, both with 178th Military Police Detachment, 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade. During their eight-and-a-half months in Iraq they have worked primarily with Battery A, 5th Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. They have conducted approximately 140 searches both on and off the base and have been on more than 90 combat missions off the FOB. To date, one of their biggest finds was thirty-six, 122 mm rounds in October 2006

     “Gabe is trained to clear open areas, buildings, routes and vehicles, and they’re able to work off-leash,” Shuck said. “We also train with the dogs in school to react to gunfire, so that pretty much doesn’t faze them.” Gabe is unique because he is a specialized search dog, meaning he will respond to the commands of his handler without the guidance of a leash. He is one of approximately 300 dogs with such training in all branches of the military.

   The fourth truck in the security convoy was hit by an explosively formed projectile (EFP). Levandoski and Schwindt reacted to assist the damaged vehicle and their injured comrades. "It was our first time being hit, but every time I asked for something to be done, it was already in place," SGT Levandoski said, remembering how well his squad performed. SGT Levandoski arrived at the damaged vehicle with PFC Schwindt to assess the injuries. Through the smoke, Levandoski found the driver (yet to be identified) and team leader SPC Joel Morera, were uninjured. When he yelled for the gunner (yet to be identified) there, was no response. Without hesitation, SGT Levandoski jumped into the truck to check on the gunner and found he was injured and unconscious. PFC Levandoski then freed the gunner, who was trapped in the turret by cutting him out of webbing in which he was tangled. Once the gunner was placed in the medical evacuation vehicle, the unit started receiving small-arms fire from a building nearly 35 meters from their position. SGT Levandoski picked up the injured gunner’s machine gun and began to fire on the position of the enemy until the unit cleared the danger zone. While under fire, PFC Schwindt went to work to treat his two injured comrades. The injured gunner had upper torso injuries, and another Soldier received injuries after being struck by a vehicle when trying to take covers. "It was my first time working on a casualty,” Schwindt said. “I just took commands from my squad leader." PFC Schwindt went through several life-saving steps to save his fellow Soldiers with no regard to his own safety, SGT Levandoski said. "I looked all around and saw the backs of my buddies’ heads who were pulling security," Schwindt said. “They were all doing their jobs so I could do mine."

   Once out of the danger zone, Schwindt set up a casualty collection point from where the two injured Soldiers were evacuated. Levandoski credited his squad for the success of the mission. "He can roll out with me any time," Levandoski said, referring to his medic.

   All police recruit prospects were processed by physical characteristics, including a retinal scan, fingerprinting and photographs.

   The Mahmudiyan district includes Lutifiyah, Yushfiyan and many outlying villages. The plan is to staff eight police stations and joint security stations in the next five years.

   The recruit applicants were were mostly Shia, many Sunnis also applied. The turn out was so good that the planned two day operation was extended for an additional third day.

   The operation was aided by the 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), and the 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, both based in Mahmudiyah.

17 July - Baghdad, 1330 Hours   PFC Brandon K. Bob, age 20 of  Port Arthur, Texas, and  PFC Ron J. Joshua Jr. age 19 of Austin, Texas, members of the 401st MP Compan, were killed in action in Baghdad when  an improvised explosive devise (IED) exploded near their vehicle.

        PFC Bobb was the gunner and PFC Joshua the driver of the M1114 Up-Armored Utility Truck Armament Carrier.

12 November, Baghdad, Iraq CPT Rodolpho Sandoval, Commander of the 411th MP Company, and his staff visited the Mansour District Iraqi Police (IP) Headquarters, and were invited to dinner hosted by the Chief of Police, COL Rahim Jabar Fehid Jabara, to celebrate the occasion. The 401st MP Company has trained and worked with COL Jabara and his Iraqi Police Officers for more than four months conducting police transition team missions. The 401st is broken down into nine squads which cover two districts worth of IP Operations.

   The family was brought to the Ghazalia station on 7 December, where native of Lometa, Texas CPL Mary Schultz, a combat medic with the 401st treated the area and covered it to prevent further infection.

   The boy was also given toys and a wheel chair that was put together on site by members of the 401st Police Transition Team (PTT) squad. The unit is now further investigating ways the boy may get surgery to further treat his defect.