2175th Military Police Company sweeps awards

Missouri National Guardsmen from the 2175th Military Police Company, based out of Hannibal and Moberly, recently competed against their peers in the 175th Military Police Battalion’s Commander’s Cup Competition.
As winners of last year’s cup, the Soldiers of the 2175th knew the other units had upped their game this year and that they would have to push themselves harder and further to clinch the cup two years in a row.
The competition began three years ago as a way for the battalion’s companies to come together and put their training to use. The brainchild of Lt. Col. James Tate, of St. Louis, the competition is designed to test the Soldiers’ technical and tactical proficiency, leadership and teamwork skills, physical toughness and mental dexterity.
Before the competition kicked off, Maj. Lance Shaffer addressed the Soldiers.
“As you prepare yourself for the challenges we have laid before you, remember the lessons you have learned over the past training year,” Shaffer said. “Remember your training. Remember that you are a finely tuned instrument of warfare. You are technically and tactically proficient. You are professional and competent.”
“In short, you are Soldiers of the 175th Military Police Battalion.”
Units competed in four categories: marksmanship, unit strength, training and special reaction team operations. The special reaction team portion was especially vital to a unit’s overall performance. Each company has a designated team that specializes in fighting in urban areas. How well a unit’s commander places his team in each scenario and the team’s proficiency and time to complete their mission affect the company’s overall scoring.
Two of the fort’s mock-Afghan villages were used to assess each unit’s ability to fight in urban areas. Upon receiving their mission, units raced against the clock to secure the high-value targets while taking precautions to avoid injuring civilians.
The 2175th’s platoons were given the simple but dangerous mission of rescuing Mayor Ahmed Habib, a democratically elected government official, who was being held by armed insurgents in a village at city hall.
The clock was ticking as the Soldiers crept out of the forest outside the village, rifles raised. One of the Soldiers threw a smoke grenade to cover their approach as they made their way through the thick vegetation along the edge of the village.
As smoke poured onto the street in front of city hall, the Soldiers raced up the stairs and through the entrance. Inside they searched the cold, dark, dusty building room by room.
Shouts echoed through the buildings as the Soldiers searched for the mayor.
“Check the roof!” shouted a platoon leader.
Shots were fired, followed by the sound of scurrying feet and doors slamming. Soldiers shouted to each other from the roof. They found someone. Members of the team emerge from the building with the mayor and escort him out of the village to safety.
The mission complete, the clock stopped. Company commander Capt. Kenneth Huenink calls his Soldiers to a halt. Now, all that was left was to tally the scores.
The three-day competition culminated in a ceremony to present the awards to the winning units. The Soldiers sat anxiously in their seats and gazed at the four gleaming trophies lined up on stage.
The room exploded in a roar of shouts and applause as the 2175th was announced the winner for every category. Huenink and 1st Sgt. Edward Stratton proudly received the trophies on behalf of their company.
“We came into this weekend with high morale and expectations,” said Stratton. “They Soldiers wanted it all but never in our wildest dream did we expect to take it all. The Soldiers came away with a sense of pride like never before. They proved to themselves that great training, awesome teamwork, strong leadership, a drive to excel and not being afraid to push themselves to their limits and beyond are worth the rewards.”
The trophies will be proudly displayed at the Hannibal armory until next year’s competition.
For more information about the Missouri National Guard, please call 1-800-GoGuard or visit www.moguard.com.