Maine Army National Guard MPs train for Afghan duties

By Sgt. Jonathan MonfilettoNew York Army National Guard
CAMP McGREGOR, N.M. - The 488th MilitaryPolice Company of the Maine Army National Guard is here training with DivisionWest’s 5th Armored Brigade for its first deployment in the unit’s current form,as Soldiers prepare to head to Afghanistan.
Sgt. 1st Class Derek Wilcox, the unit’sguard force commander, said this will be the first time the company has beenshipped out since it began flying its own flag about four years ago.
The 488th was previously part of theMaine Army National Guard’s 169th Military Police Company, Wilcox said. The169th last deployed about five years ago.
“It’s exciting,” Wilcox said of theunit’s first tour of duty. “The unit has a really good mix of experience andyoung, new Soldiers. It’s nice to see the level of mentorship going on.”
One of those young, new Soldiers is Spc.Clay Landry, who said the tour of duty in Afghanistan will be his firstdeployment.
“I’m excited,” Landry said. “I can’twait.”
The unit will support detaineeoperations in Afghanistan, Wilcox said. “It could be anything in support of thefacility.”
During their deployment, Wilcox said, itwill be his role as guard force commander to conduct daily briefings on the safety,rules and intelligence at the facility, while conducting hourly checks toensure the safety of both the Soldiers and the detainees.
While the company is at Camp McGregorfor the next several weeks, Wilcox said, the Soldiers are scheduled to train indetainee operations, entry control points, force protection and fundamentals ofpatrolling, as well as weapons.
The unit’s preparation for thedeployment began three months ago, though, Wilcox said, when the Soldiers spentabout six weeks practicing basic warrior tasks and battle drills at their homestation in Maine.
“I think it’s a good refresher,” Wilcoxsaid of the unit’s training, both at home and in New Mexico, which includeshands-on training the Soldiers do not typically get. “It’s good to get thisrefresher training.”
Landry agreed that the training is good,noting he and his fellow Soldiers get to switch roles during each exercise sothey know as much as possible about their mission.
For example, Landry pointed out,Soldiers performing a detainee operations exercise take turns acting asdetainees and guards in a mock detention facility, while others work on thefacility’s quick reaction force.
“How the Army does it, I think it’s great,”Landry said.
Besides the company’s military training,individual Soldiers also have experience of their own from previousdeployments, as well as their civilian jobs.
 “There are a good number of civilian lawenforcement and civilian corrections officers,” Wilcox said. “Being an MP unit,people who do that in the civilian world are drawn to the unit. It brings anadded level of experience to the unit.”