By Sgt. Scott Raper, 149th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade
[caption id="attachment_11028" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Pfc. Aaron Morgan, 940th Military Police Company (photo by Sgt. Scott Raper, 149th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade0"]
VICTORY BASE COMPLEX, Iraq – Maintaining the security of Victory Base Complex remains a task of U.S. Forces during their final days in Iraq. It is a vital role that the Soldiers of the 149
th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade will play right up until the end of the troop withdraw.
The 149
th MEB makes up the security forces that occupy guard towers high above the perimeter of the shrinking base. Each tower commands a bird’s eye view of VBC’s boundaries and its surroundings. Members of the 940
th Military Police Co. are some of those assigned to this important assignment.
“If anything should happen, we see it first. I feel like I am making things safer for everyone else,” said Pfc. Aaron Morgan, an M.P. from Erlanger, Ky.
The job may not sound like one for the Military Police, but Morgan simply said “M.P.’s are multi-purpose, we will do whatever we’re told.”
Base defense has demanded a lot from the 940th during their time overseas. Soldiers of the unit were asked to take on various tasks around VBC; as tower guards, they are contributing to internal security and as part of quick reaction forces. Morgan credits their M.P. training and a positive attitude to keep up with the challenges.
“We’ve done a lot of missions. From patrolling the city, high towers, providing security all around…it’s like we are tasked with something new every day,” he said. “We just adapt. We fall back on our training. And we realize all the different kinds of training we go through has all paid off.”
The impact of their assignments has proven to be far from simple. However, the versatile Guardsmen do their best to overcome. That includes their time they spend away from the many stations they man.
“The jobs we have here are hard work, but the time flies by and we make the best of our down time.”
Time is truly moving by as the M.P.’s see the convoys headed out of the gates in a southbound direction. Everyday VBC gets smaller with more equipment and troops leaving on their way out of Iraq. Soldiers of the 940
th said they are proud to be a part of the end of the war. They recognize the significance of the role the Kentucky National Guard is playing in the final chapter of Operation New Dawn.
“I think it’s really cool being one of the last units out of Iraq. It will be a story we will be telling for awhile,” said Morgan.