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Posted on 03/11/2009 9:46:49 AM PDT by fightinbluhen51
Being Airborne I decided to look up Airborne MPs.
On August 16, 1942, the 82nd Infantry Division became the 82nd Airborne Division and under this conversion the MP platoon became the 82nd Airborne Military Police. This changeover entailed a loss of about 50 percent of the personnel of the platoon; these men going to form the Military Police Platoon of the 101st Airborne Division, the running brother of the 82nd through-out the war. After the shuffle, the platoon was left with two Officers, 36 enlisted men, and four one-quarter ton trucks, under the command of now Major William P. Bowden.
Thereafter the platoon continued the customary training and services of an MP platoon, supplemented by airborne training at the following stations: Camp Claiborne, LA Mar 25- Oct 5, 1942, Fort Bragg, NC Oct 5- April 19, 1943, Edwards, MA April 21-27, 1943, Aboard USAT George Washington at sea April 28- May 9, 1943, Camp Dan E. Passage, near Casablanca , North Africa. May 9-12, 1943 & Oujda, French Morocco May 12- June 21 1943. Nine enlisted men, qualified parachutists, detached from the parachute regiments, were placed on special duty with the platoon June 15 at Oujda, in order to make the composition there somewhat more in accord with the basic organization of the division. These nine men are believed to be the first Military Police parachutists in the U.S. Army. Since that time, the number has varied from time to time with over half of the platoon as airborne qualified. From here the division undertook one of its many airborne moves on the eastern side of the Atlantic. On June 24, 1943, the MP Platoon along with the rest of the division moved by air to Kairowan , Tunisia . Here, as in Oujda, the platoon had intensive training for their coming combat operations.
Just in case anyone here did not hear it; an Alabama deputy (whose wife and daughter were killed) was interviewed, and he said his department was NOT equipped to handle this type of event (the shooting). He said they (his dept) was so ill equipped they could not handle a mere two victim homicide. The interview can be found at CNN.com in their video section under the heading “Deputy: “Pray for my baby.” Here’s a link to the video section. You’ll have to look through the videos for the interview with the aforementioned title.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/crime/2009/03/11/toschi.hot.dogs.lead.NEWS12NJ
“My question is, why wasn’t an all available units and other jurisdictions called in first? Response time?”
These are the agencies that are either investigating, or otherwise helping secure the massive crime scene:
Alabama Department of Public Safety, Geneva County Sheriffs Department, Geneva Police Department, Samson Police Department, Coffee County Sheriffs Department, Dothan Police Department, Dale County Sheriffs Department, Andalusia Police Department, Covington County Sheriffs Department, New Brockton Police Department, Ozark Police Department, State Fire Marshal, Alabama Beverage Control Board, Conservation and Natural Resources, Department of Forensic Sciences, Emergency Management Agency, Alabama Power Company investigators, the FBI, ATF, and Ft. Rucker Police Department.
In the news reports I’ve seen, those MP’s from Ft. Rucker were helping to secure a crime scene.
They were not kicking down doors and arresting people. They were not questioning witnesses. They were not enforcing the law, they were helping guard a crime scene until civilian authorities can investigate it..
They were not patrolling streets as in every street in the town.
Not that I would expect those former alien abductee conspiracy nuts who run infowars, prisonplanet, etc to know any better.
In the aftermath of hurricane Andrew, the 82nd Airborne Division was dispatched to south Florida. They were also sent to New Orleans after hurricane Katrina.
FYI Washington D.C. is a military district.
Yep.
In fact in many cases the military usually still has jurisdiction within a one to five mile radius from the post boundaries.
At Ft. Polk, the MP’s can pull you over all along the 2 1/2 miles of Entrance Road between the gate and Highway 171.
See post 97.
Were they there to provide LE, or relief (tents, food, tac vehicles, generators. PI-"Recovery Radio", potable water, medcap, etc.)?
My memory may be wrong here after 37 years but I was under the impression that MPs from Ft.Lewis had some authority on part of the interstate there by the post.
At Ft. Polk, the MP’s can pull you over all along the 2 1/2 miles of Entrance Road between the gate and Highway 171.
Wrong. MPs have jurisdiction over military personnel anywhere. In other cases, the geographical limits of the Post extend beyond area inside Main Gate.
“My memory may be wrong here after 37 years but I was under the impression that MPs from Ft.Lewis had some authority on part of the interstate there by the post.”
After 36 years my memory is intact. When I was an MP, my authority began at the entrance to the base. Anything fore and aft were off limits.
There were boundaries then. Course like everything else regulating our lives today, they could have extended their boundaries since then. Sorta like cities do when they need to increase revenue, they expand their boundaries. AKA creeping incrementalism revenues one mile at the time.
Or ask.
Never saw MPs or any other military security personnel combing the streets of surrounding cities.
Huh? Britain has controled guns a lot longer than that...
Interesting info...Thanks!
I know former MPs who are civilian cops as well as Reservist MPs who are civilian cops. The procedures they follow are quite different in their two roles. The tasks they conduct and how they do it are quite different. In fact, IIANM, MP platoons in Iraq are/were more heavily armed than Infantry ones.
“I can seriously suggest that it is entirely appropriate for U.S. citizens to expect no threat to their liberty by U.S. military commanders.”
I foresee at time when the US military takes up the slack for law enforcement who are busy collecting firearms from US citizens.
Does anyone know the details?
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