MIDDLETOWN, Pa. –
More than 100 Soldiers assigned to the 28th Military Police Company, 165th MP Battalion, 55th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade departed from Harrisburg International Airport May 19 to mobilize to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The company is augmented by Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 165th MP Battalion, as well as Soldiers from the 1069th MP Company and the 28th Infantry Division's Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion.
A departure ceremony was held for deploying Soldiers, family and friends at Fort Indiantown Gap May 18. During the ceremony, the unit "cased" the company guidon. This time-honored tradition, typically conducted prior to deployment, symbolizes a unit's change in location, as the guidon travels wherever the unit commander goes.
"We've received ample training and are ready for the mission at hand," said Capt. Victor Mayorquin, 28th MP Company commander. "We've been doing all we can to prepare for this, and I have full confidence in my unit's ability to complete our mission successfully and return home safely."
The unit will be conducting detention operations for the Guantanamo Bay prison. These operations will include the management, oversight and staffing of the prison's facilities. Responsibilities primarily involve ensuring the secure, humane, and orderly confinement of detainees and inmates.
According to Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Wilson, operations sergeant of the 28th MP Company, this is not the first Guantanamo Bay deployment for some of the company's Soldiers.
"Several of the Soldiers mobilizing with us have been deployed to Guantanamo Bay in the past for a very similar mission," Wilson said. "The unit will definitely benefit from the experience and expertise those Soldiers are able to offer. To our younger Soldiers on this mission, I'd say to use this opportunity as a learning experience and an opportunity to become a better military leader."
Pennsylvania Army National Guard leadership from the 165th MP Battalion, the 55th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade command team, the 28th Infantry Division and the Pennsylvania National Guard command group were present at HIA to see the unit off and wish Soldiers best of luck.
The Soldiers will complete additional training at Fort Bliss, Texas, in the coming weeks prior to arriving at Guantanamo Bay and beginning their mission.