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ARMY'S BEST MPs SERVING IN IRAQ

V Corps Release

Release Date: 12/31/2003

By Andrew Stamer Army News Service

WASHINGTON -- An Army military police company from Grafenwoehr, Germany, which is now helping stand up Iraqi police stations, won the top award for excellence among MP units.

The 615th Military Police Company was selected for the Brig. Gen. Jeremiah P. Holland Award by a special board that convened Dec. 3. Maj. Gen. Donald Ryder, the Provost Marshall General, approved the board's recommendation Dec. 12.

The first runner-up for the award was the 188th Military Police Company from the 8th Army in Korea. The 25th Military Police Company from the U.S. Army Pacific in Hawaii received second runner-up for the second year in a row.

This was the first time the 615th MP Company has won this award, which was first presented in 1970.

To receive this award, units must submit a packet that details achievements throughout the year in areas such as training, physical fitness and weapons qualification, among many other categories.

"This is the golden egg," said Maj. Kenneth Keim, operations staff officer for the Office of the Provost Marshall General, about the highest award an MP unit can receive.

For those units who participate, "the commander has to make a conscious decision at the beginning of the year because there is so much information that has to go into the packet," said Master Sgt. Harley Horner, senior operations noncommissioned officer for the Office of the Provost Marshall General. "(The units) have to have someone dedicated to putting it together."

The packet tracks each year's achievements from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.

In March, the 615th MP Co. deployed to Kuwait and then moved onward to Iraq, where they have been conducting a variety of missions - from convoy security to law and order operations. Working with the Iraqi Police Service, they have helped stand up and operate 11 Iraqi police stations in Baghdad. Currently, the 615th MP Co. continues to conduct law and order and police intelligence operations in the Northwestern sector of Baghdad.

Many past winners of the award have been stationed oversees, officials said, including 16 from Germany. The reason for this is because units overseas "already exist in a forward deployed mode," said Keim. "The levels of operations in these units are at their peak . their capability has to be at its peak."

All three of this year's winners were overseas.

"There are a lot of ongoing operations," said Horner, "OPTEMPO is high."