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“Guardians, take charge!” Those words byLieutenant Colonel Michael Apodaca, commander ofthe 97th Military Police Battalion, concluded thebattalion’s activation ceremony and ushered in one ofthe Military Police Regiment’s newest battalions. Theyalso closed the latest chapter in the history of the 924thMilitary Police Battalion (Provisional) as it inactivated.

The ceremony took place at Fort Riley, Kansas,on the morning of 18 October 2005. Units participatingin the ceremony were the Headquarters and Head-quarters Detachment, 97th Military Police Battalion;the 116th Military Police Company; the 300th MilitaryPolice Company; the 977th Military Police Company;and A Company (Provisional).

It provided an opportunity for Colonel Thomas T.Smith, the Fort Riley garrison commander, and ColonelMichael Galloucis, commander of the 89th Military

By Major Louis J. Poore

Police Brigade, to participate in the time-honoredtradition of activating units for service in the US Army.

Before the activation ceremony, Colonel Galloucisand Command Sergeant Major Mike Sampson, brigadecommand sergeant major, officially welcomed thebattalion into the 89th Military Police Brigade at asoldier sleeve insignia (SSI) changeover, from theIII Corps insignia to the brigade insignia. The newSSI gave the Soldiers of the battalion a visual reminderof the change in the unit’s status, from a nondeployableheadquarters to a deployable “Force of Choice”battalion. Also, it demonstrated the evolutionarychanges within the Army as the number of militarypolice units continues to increase.

The formal ceremony to activate and inactivateunits is rich in tradition. This occasion served the dualfunction of rendering honors to the inactivation of

Guardians, Take Charge!97th Military Police BattalionActivates at Fort Riley, Kansas

The garrison commander and the 97th Military Police Battalion commander (foreground) case thecolors of the 924th Military Police Battalion.

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the 924th Military Police Battalion (Provisional) andthe opening of a new chapter in the 97th MilitaryPolice Battalion’s history. The garrison commanderand the 97th Military Police Battalion commandercased the colors of the 924th Military Police Battalionas the inactivation orders were read aloud. Simul-taneously, the 523d Military Police Detachment wasinactivated and its guidon was furled by Captain CraigHager, the detachment commander.

The 97th Military Police Battalion, as well asits Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment,officially activated as the orders were read aloud. Theactivation of the battalion was especially memorablefor one veteran, retired First Sergeant WilliamReese, who served in the battalion during the VietnamWar. First Sergeant Reese and several Soldiers wearinguniforms from World War II, the Korean War, andthe Vietnam War provided the battalion’s 21 campaignstreamers for Colonel Smith and Lieutenant ColonelApodaca to festoon the battalion’s colors.

The inactivated 924th Military Police Battaliontraces its lineage through the Alpha Company (LawEnforcement) to the 207th Military Police Company,which was first activated at Fort McClellan,

Alabama, in February 1941. The 207th saw action inthe Pacific Theater during World War II and deployedto Korea in 1946 for occupation duty, where it wasawarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation. Uponwithdrawal of US forces from Korea, the unit wasinactivated. The 207th was activated at Fort Riley inDecember 1952, where it served continuouslyuntil 1982. Alpha Company was activated in 1982,when personnel and equipment were transferredfrom the 207th Military Police Company to establisha law enforcement activity at Fort Riley. AlphaCompany served under the 716th Military PoliceBattalion from its activation in 1982 until theHeadquarters and Headquarters Detachmentdeployed to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, in June 1996.The remaining military police units at Fort Rileywere then reorganized into a law enforcementcommand, which was redesignated as the 924thMilitary Police Battalion in 2001.

The history of the 97th Military Police Battalioncan be traced back to World War II, when it servedbriefly in Western Europe in 1945 before beinginactivated. The battalion was activated and calledupon to serve in the Korean War, where it operated

A veteran of the Vietnam War (right) presents a battle streamer to festoon the colors.

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Prisoner of War (POW) EnclosureNo. 9 in support of the UnitedNations-led POW internment opera-tion. The battalion directed a facilitythat secured more than 21,000 POWs.The battalion served in the KoreanWar until its inactivation in 1953.The battalion was twice awarded theRepublic of Korea Presidential UnitCitation for its actions.

In 1966, at the height of theVietnam War, the battalion wasactivated once again to support theArmy and its mission in SoutheastAsia. The 97th Military PoliceBattalion operated out of Cam RahnBay, South Vietnam. The battalioncoordinated the battlefield circulationcontrol operation for several keymobility corridors while simulta-neously performing law and orderoperations. The battalion and itssubordinate units were credited withsecuring a 450-mile convoy ofengineers and supplies destined for aspecial forces base camp in thevicinity of the Cambodian and SouthVietnamese borders. This was thelongest convoy completed during theconflict. After six years of servicein Vietnam, the battalion redeployedto the United States and wasinactivated at Oakland Army Base,California, in April 1972. The battalion was awardedthe Meritorious Unit Commendation and the Republicof Vietnam Gallantry Cross with palm for itsdistinguished service.

By the end of the Cold War, the battalion wasonce again activated in Mannheim, Germany, inSeptember 1989. Its main missions were militarycustoms and the command and control of the USconfinement facility in Mannheim. The battalion wasagain inactivated in September 1994.

The 97th Military Police Battalion begins a newchapter in its history by providing command andcontrol of the Headquarters and Headquarters

Detachment, the 116th Military Police Company; the300th Military Police Company; and the 977th MilitaryPolice Company. Additionally, the battalion providessupport to the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized)through the assistance of the provost marshal’s office,the Akal civilian security contractor force, theDepartment of the Army police, and government serviceemployees. Lieutenant Colonel Apodaca summarizedthe feeling of those who attended the activationceremony when he said, “The Soldiers before you willcontinue the legacy of this great unit, the 97th [MilitaryPolice] Battalion, and will show character, courage,and commitment in all they do.”

The 89th Military Police Brigade commander (right), garrisoncommander (center), and the 97th Military Police Battalioncommander (left) review the assembly while a soldier dressed ina World War II uniform stands at attention.