21st Military Police Company (Airborne)
The 21st Military Police Company (Airborne) was originally formed as the 1294th Military Police Company during the Second World War, the unit saw action in Normandy, Northern France, and the Rhineland. It was deactivated at the end of the war, and stayed in that status until January 1967 when it was redesignated as the 21st Military Police Company and allotted to the Regular Army. The 21st was inactivated again in May 1968 at Fort Carson, CO, until November 1970 when it was reactivated at Fort Bragg and became a member of the 503rd Military Police Battalion (Airborne).
Since its reactivation, the 21st Military Police Company (Airborne) has taken part in every major overseas deployment of the XVIII Airborne Corps. Soldiers of the 21st served in Grenada during Operation "Urgent Fury" and "Island Breeze" in 1983 and 1984. In 1987, the 21st became one of only three airborne military police companies in the United States Army. In 1988, the 21st augmented the U.S. Southern Command in the Republic of Panama.
In September 1989 the 21st deployed to the island of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands to retore law and order in the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo. In 1989, the company returned to Panama for Operations "Just Cause" and "Promote Liberty".
During the 1990's, the 21st participated in Operations "Desert Shield" and "Desert Storm" in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, performing security, battlefield circulation control, and enemy prisoner of war operations. From 1993-1994, the 21st deployed to Mogadishu, Somalia for Operation "Restore Hope". In 1994, the company deployed to Haiti for Operation "Uphold Democracy. In 1998 the company participated in Operation "Joint Guard" in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and in 1999 the company provided humanitarian relief to Albanians during Operation "Provide Refuge" at Fort Dix, New Jersey.
As of late 2001, the 21st Military Police Company (Airborne) was deployed to Kosovo in support of Operation "Joint Guardian" where it was providing Military Police support to Task Force Falcon's mission to maintain a safe and secure environment in that region of the world.
