Ocala-based 351st Military Police Company Sent Off By Hundreds

Hundreds wish Ocala-based soldiers going to Afghanistan well
Gainsville.com
By Andy Fillmore
Correspondent
Published: Saturday, May 10, 2014

Spc Daryl Robinson and his son Derrick spend a moment during the public farewell for the 351st MP company at the Ocala Marion County Veterans Memorial Park Saturday May 10, 2014. Families and friends of the unit gathered to wish them a public farewell before they deploy to Fort Bliss Texas for training then Afghanistan.
Alan Youngblood/Ocala Star-Banner

OCALA -- About 800 well-wishers gathered at the Ocala-Marion County Veterans Park Saturday for a deployment ceremony for the Ocala-based 351st Military Police Company as the 150-soldier, Ocala-based unit heads for a yearlong stint in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Amid cheers and tears, the three-platoon unit entered the park, marching to “The Army Song” played by the Kingdom of the Sun Band.

Company commander Capt. Douglas Worstell, 42, of Orlando, on his fifth deployment, addressed the crowd about the 351st, which he has nicknamed “The Outlaws.”

“I promise no soldier will go on a mission without the proper training or equipment. We have been entrusted with your loved ones,” he said.
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Over 100 Army Reserve MPs heading to Afghanistan

Ocala-based Army Reserve unit heading to Afghanistan
Ocala Star Banner
By Bill Thompson
Staff writer
Published: Monday, April 28, 2014

As the U.S. mission in Afghanistan winds down, more than 100 soldiers from the Ocala-based 351st Military Police Company are gearing up for another tour.

Capt. Douglas Worstell said he will be leading the unit on a deployment to an area near Bagram as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Worstell said he could not reveal many details about the Army Reserve unit's mission during its yearlong stint on active duty, which begins on May 8, when the troops are expected to report to Ocala.

They will leave soon afterward for Fort Bliss, Texas, for additional training prior to being shipped to Afghanistan, Worstell said.

A community ceremony marking the unit's return to duty will be held on May 10.

The event is set for 10 a.m. at the Ocala-Marion County Veterans Memorial Park, 2601 E. Fort King St., Ocala.
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Fort Bragg Military Police are investigating after a body was found

Body found on side of road at Fort Bragg
Associated Press

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Military Police are investigating after a body was found along a road at Fort Bragg.

Authorities said the body was found along a road in the western part of Fort Bragg, which is mostly woods with roads open to the public.

Military officials released few other details, including what police think might have happened to the dead person.

A medical examiner plans an autopsy on the body.
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Michigan Army National Guardsmen Welcomed Home

Families welcome home soldiers of Michigan National Guard 144th Military Police Company
MLive.com
by Molly Young
on January 23, 2014

Sgt. Tyler Vandeberghe, 22, of Clinton Township, leans in to kiss his girlfriend, Lindsay Rosenzweig, of Ann Arbor, as the two reunite in the bleachers as more than 150 Michigan Army National Guard soldiers of the 144th Military Police Company return home from Afghanistan on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014 at Owosso High School in Owosso. The two calculated they had been apart 271 days. "I about lost it," Vandeberghe said of seeing his family and girlfriend with a 20-foot-wide welcome home poster in the gymnasium. "As soon as I could, I ran to her. It felt really good having her in my arms again. It was perfect." Jake May | MLive.com

OWOSSO, MI -- James VanDusen, 3, couldn't help but stare – and touch and grab and kiss – at the face that'd been missing from his life for the last nine months while his dad, Capt. John Van Dusen, talked to reporters Thursday, Jan. 23.

"When I left, he was barely talking," said VanDusen, who lives in L'Anse in the Upper Peninsula. "Now he talks all the time, so that'll be a big adjustment."

Families reunite with more than 150 Michigan soldiers at Owosso homecoming on Jan. 23, 2014 at Owosso High School.

Hundreds of Michigan families are complete again after 153 soldiers returned from Afghanistan Thursday morning. The Michigan Army National Guard soldiers from the Owosso-based 144th Military Police Company were deployed for more than nine months in Afghanistan. The unit has members from all over Michigan.

"(My son) gave me a big hug and a big kiss and said, 'I have my daddy back,'" VanDusen said of the moment he first saw his son after the ceremony.

James was well-dressed and ready for the occasion, wearing his army-green, military-style T-shirt that read "Major Hunk."
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Canadian MP faces court martial over PTSD service dog

Soldier faces court martial for bringing service dog to work
CTV Atlantic
December 20, 2013

A New Brunswick-based soldier is facing a court martial for bringing a service dog to work.

Stuart Murray is a military police officer who did two tours in Afghanistan and one in Bosnia.

The 43-year-old suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and has a dog named Vivian to help ease the symptoms. However, Murray has been charged with disobeying a lawful order because he brought Vivian to work against orders.

Stewart Murray, who suffers from PTSD, is facing a court martial for bringing a service dog to work.

“This dog is like medicine to him,” says Nova Scotia NDP MP Peter Stoffer. “You certainly wouldn’t refuse someone who is a diabetic from bringing their medicine to work.”

Murray was directed by the military to go to a civilian psychiatrist because of his illness and he was prescribed the service dog.

“It is a service dog. The psychiatrist recommended that this individual have this dog to do his day-to-day chores,” says Stoffer.

Retired Air Force Capt. Medric Cousineau knows Murray and he too suffers from PTSD. He left the military in 1991.

“I had a recurring horrible night terror every morning at 4:30,” he says.

Cousineau, who received Canada’s second highest order for bravery for a rescue at sea, was in a downward spiral for 25 years until August 2012, when he received his own service dog.

“She’s my savior,” he says.
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Fort Bragg MP Donates Stem Cells for Child with Leukemia

Soldier Donates Stem Cells for Child with Leukemia
Military.com
by Sgt. Barry St. Clair
Dec 18, 2013

FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- Volunteering to become a Soldier in the U.S. Army is a commitment requiring dedication, sacrifice and courage. Soldiers often lead a life of voluntary service to the community in other ways than honoring their countrymen through duty.

Spc. Amanda N. Reynolds of Weleetka, Okla., serves as an investigator in the 42nd Military Police Detachment, 16th MP Brigade, out of Fort Bragg, N.C. In addition to her commitment as a Soldier, Reynolds is a very dedicated and giving person. She is actively involved in the C. W. Bill Young Department of Defense Marrow Donor Program, a life-sustaining program open to all healthy people between the ages of 18 and 60.

Reynolds registered as a donor in Oklahoma and the DoD donor program. She had never really considered the option until one near-death experience made her realize the importance and fragile nature of life.

Reynolds has been a military policewoman in the U.S. Army for seven years, deploying to Baghdad, Iraq, twice for her country. Reynolds was part of the elite Military Police Soldiers who are also airborne paratroopers.

One day in October 2011, was her last scheduled jump on jump status. Soldiers on jump status receive additional pay for the hazardous task of parachuting. In turn, they are required to complete a variety of jumps regularly. She was scheduled for a night jump, and fatefully it turned out to be her last jump unexpectedly.
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Navy couple met in Guam, he's charged with killing her in Orlando

Husband shoots, kills wife pregnant with twin boys; on suicide watch
Alexis Boyce, 23, and one of her unborn babies were pronounced dead. The surviving infant is in the hospital.
Orlando Sentinel
By Arelis R. Hernández
November 15, 2013

Deputies found a pregnant Alexis Boyce sitting in a chair with her hands in her lap and a bullet in her head.

Her husband, Michael Boyce, told Orange County sheriff's detectives depression drove his 23-year-old wife to suicide Thursday — but his story didn't stand up to questioning.

Alexis Boyce — eight months pregnant with twin boys — was rushed to the hospital, where she and one of her sons were pronounced dead. The surviving infant remains in critical condition in the neonatal intensive care unit at Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies.

Her father, Leon Huntley, told reporters Friday his daughter was full of life and that her death is a tragedy for his family.

Both Navy veterans, Alexis and Michael Boyce met while stationed in Guam and married about a year ago.

Family and friends shocked

The horrifying shooting is the last thing any of Boyce's military friends expected from the former sailor.

Tiffany Nelson served with Boyce in a mobile security unit stationed out of Guam for three years. They worked together in a tight-knit unit that provided security for the Navy's ships in ports across the globe, she said.

"It's like being a civilian police officer," except for the Navy, Nelson said. Military police are a proud bunch who undergo background checks and must have clean records to ascend the ranks, she said.

Nelson described Boyce as a fun, loyal friend who was in love with his wife and was great at his job.

"This can't be the same Boyce," Nelson said, describing the moment she heard her brother-in-arms had been charged with the murder. "This is a total shock to all of us."
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Marine MP sentenced for having gun in Fort Lee?

Marine MP sentenced for having gun in Fort Lee, remains free on appeal
Posted by: cliffviewpilot
Posted date: September 21, 2013

EXCLUSIVE: A judge yesterday reluctantly sentenced a Marine MP whose loaded service weapon was brandished at police by another man during a melee outside a Fort Lee nightclub to five years in state prison.

However, he allowed Hisashi Pompey to remain free on appeal based on his service to his country. If Pompey loses the bid, he will have to serve three years behind bars before he’ll be eligible for parole.

Superior Court Judge Edward A. Jerejian said he really had no choice under the state law known as the Graves Act.

“Other states are different, but here we have mandatory sentences,” Jerejian told him. “This was basically a very unfortunate situation, and the plea offer still included state prison time and would have cost you your career.

“I thought military weapons were covered in all states,” he said. “If I had known they weren’t recognized in New Jersey, I never would have brought it here.”
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Military Police Officer found in barracks at Fort Bragg died

Death of Bragg paratrooper investigated
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Mar 21, 2013 10:32:21 EDT

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Authorities at Fort Bragg are investigating the death of a paratrooper who was found unresponsive in his barracks last weekend and who later died.

The base said Wednesday that 21-year-old Spc. Robert P. Wasser of Marysville, Wash., was a military police officer with the 82nd Airborne Division.

The base said he was found unresponsive in his barracks Saturday morning and later pronounced dead.
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Wheeler Army Airfield soldier standoff with MP ends

Standoff ends peacefully at Wheeler Army Airfield housing
By Star-Advertiser staff
Mar 02, 2013

Military police have resolved a standoff at a home on Wheeler Army Airfield this afternoon.

A 25th Infantry Division soldier barricaded himself at about 1 p.m. Saturday in his home on Pikake Street at Wheeler, Army spokesman Dennis Drake said.

Police had surrounded the home, Drake said.

At about 3:30 p.m. Army law enforcement officials took the soldier into custody.

As a precaution, officials from the Army and Island Palm Communities relocated residents in the surrounding streets in the Wiliwili Housing area to an area community center, Drake said.

The Army is investigating the incident.

It is unclear if the soldier was armed.
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Fort Hood The Untold Truth new film

Kimberly Munley talks about the day hell arrived at Fort Hood. As she lay on the ground, her gun would not fire. Hasan stood over her with his gun pointed right at her. His didn't fire. She lived. This is an amazing story and a sad reminder the families still wait for justice.

Carolina Beach officer who stopped Fort Hood rampage to be the focus of a local film on the incident
Thursday, February 7, 2013
by Cassie Foss

Kimberly Barbour Munley, a Carolina Beach native and civilian police officer credited with stopping the deadly 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, will serve as consultant to a group of local filmmakers who have set out to tell her story on the big screen.

“Fort Hood: The Untold Truth” will focus on Munley’s experience on Nov. 5, 2009 – Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan killed 13 people and injured several others – and flash back to earlier events in the officer’s life, according to the film’s Indiegogo webpage.
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Murder-suicide has East St. Louis in shock

'So out of character': ESL murder, suicide has city in shock
Published: November 23, 2012
By CAROLYN P. SMITH
News-Democrat

EAST ST. LOUIS — The 69-year-old man and 66-year-old woman who died in a murder-suicide Thursday in the 700 block of North 75th Street have been identified as Bobby Stewart and Dorothy McCaskill.

East St. Louis Police received a call at 6 p.m. to respond to what they believed was a hostage situation at the couple's residence. Once there, they called in the Illinois State Police SWAT team. The next several hours were intense and police used extreme caution in an attempt to keep the situation from escalating.
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Fort Hood soldiers stoked for huge motorcycle rally

Huge motorcycle rally honors veterans, spotlights safety
7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
Story by Sgt. Ken Scar

FORT HOOD, Texas - The growl of engines replaced the usually calm morning atmosphere on the III Corps parade field Thursday as more than 700 motorcyclists convened in front of the III Corps Headquarters building for the seventh annual Phantom Thunder Mentorship Ride. The event attracted riders of all kinds of motorcycles, from fat Harley Davidsons to sleek sport bikes. Lined up and parked two to three deep before the ride began, the sea of polished chrome and carbon fiber stretched around the entire paved half-mile running loop.

Coordinated by the 89th Military Police Brigade, the event is held each year to demonstrate to the community Fort Hood’s commitment to motorcycle safety.

“I’m stoked for this,” said Spc. Cheyn Turberville, of Citrus Hills, Cali., a Soldier with 1st Brigade, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, as he was checking the ride route on a huge map that was hung over the side of a Light Medium Tactical Vehicle. “I’ve never done a ride this big. It’s cool to see all the bikes, and it’s way cooler than doing our regular duties.”

“We get to ride motorcycles during the duty day! How can you complain about that?” said Command Sgt. Maj. Peter Ladd, the brigade Command Sergeant Major for the 89th Military Police Brigade. “This is a chance for all the Soldiers, all the family members, and all the civilians that work and play on Fort Hood to get together and promote motorcycle awareness.”
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Government and personal property stolen at Fort Campbell

Stopping thieves: Police advise Soldiers to secure gear
October 25, 2012
by Michele Vowell
Courier assistant editor

A Fort Campbell Soldier walks down the hall from his barracks room to visit with his buddy, leaving his door unlocked. A mere five minutes later, when the Soldier returns, his cell phone and laptop are missing.

Although this scenario is fictional, incidents of theft on post happen too often, according to installation law enforcement officials.

In September alone, 57 incidents of larceny (nonviolent theft of personal property) were reported to the installation’s Military Police. Of those incidents, 24 were reports of stolen government property. Thirty-three of the incidents were reports of stolen private property.

“Theft is a crime of opportunity,” said Fort Campbell Police Chief Keith Shumate. The reported thefts occurred at several different locations across post, including 20 at administrative buildings, 16 in parking lots, nine in on-post quarters, eight at barracks, two in motor pools and two in miscellaneous areas.
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MP Sgt. Smith's suicide leaves unit in shock

Now maybe you can see that what the DOD is doing to stop suicides is not working!

Sergeant’s unexpected suicide rattles his MP unit
Army Times
By Joe Gould
Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Sep 25, 2012

On a Thursday, military policeman Sgt. Derek Smith was in a small conference room at Fort Belvoir, Va., playing the role of a concerned friend in a suicide prevention training session. That Sunday, he was found in his patrol car, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

How Smith could take his own life was a mystery to his commander and others in their relatively tight-knit unit, the post’s 45-member 212th Military Police Detachment.

“From my view, he had not a care in the world, and life was going great,” said Staff Sgt. Steven Finch, Smith’s supervisor. “No sign whatsoever. Zero. I’d spoken to him that Friday and his family had spoken to him that afternoon. Nothing.”

Smith, 29, of Jacksonville, Fla., entered the Army in 2007 and deployed to Iraq a year later for 15 months, then left the Army and re-enlisted in 2010.

At least to his co-workers, he showed no signs of the behavioral health problems, financial distress or relationship issues that often precede a suicide.
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Soldier in custody after Fort Campbell shooting

Soldier in custody after Campbell shooting
The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Jan 22, 2012 17:30:06 EST
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Military police at Fort Campbell on Sunday said they took a soldier into custody after shots were fired at the post.

Fort Campbell spokesman Rick Rzepka told The Associated Press that no one was injured in the shooting.
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Retired Army police officer saved by rescued Pug

Rescued pug taught to dial 9-1-1 is 'saving grace' for owner with post traumatic stress disorder


By: Rikki Klaus

VERO BEACH, Fla. - They say a dog is man's best friend, and there's a dog in Vero Beach who's living proof.

She may be tiny, but Pei Pei packs a powerful punch. Not only can she sense her owner's moods, she can contact emergency responders when he's in danger. The service dog is a mix of a beloved family member and a diligent worker who could rescue her owner's life if need be.

"Go get help!" James Taylor shouted to his 11-pound pug. Pei Pei ran to a phone on the living room floor and pressed both paws onto the large, circular button. The dial tone sounded. Praise followed.

With the press of that single button, service dog Pei Pei can dial 9-1-1. That's a huge comfort for the retired Army police officer, who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and hearing loss. Sometimes he falls too, so Pei Pei is his 'saving grace.'

"Without her, I couldn't imagine my life. I'd probably be home-bound a lot because of what I suffer severely. I know if I have any kind of problems, she's going to help me right through it," said Taylor.
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Mom takes down robber at ATM

Mother Takes Down Robbery Suspect

John Meekin Wrestled To Ground While Fleeing

POSTED: 5:06 pm EDT October 5, 2011
OCALA, Fla. -- An Ocala mother wrestled and held a robbery suspect who was trying to flee from police.

It started Monday evening with Warren Kinsella, 55, who was withdrawing money from an automated teller machine near Ocala.

Investigators with the Marion County Sheriff's Office said John Meekin, 35, approached Kinsella on his bike, drew a gun and demanded money.

"I said no," Kinsella said. "I've got to pay bills with my money."

Kinsella retired from the Army and was a former military policeman. He said he shoved the bike out of the way and fled before following Meekin in his truck Kinsella said the gunman even shot at him but missed.

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Rogers served five years in the Army as a military police officer killed by police

Funeral held Monday for father shot by police

Rogers served five years in the Army as a military police officer.

by KREM.com and Shawn Chitnis
NWCN.com
Posted on October 3, 2011
MEDICAL LAKE, Wash.—The family of James Rogers laid his body to rest Monday after he was shot and killed by Spokane Police September 26th.

Roger was buried at the Washington State Veterans Cemetery in Medical Lake after a funeral service, but they are still dealing with a mix of emotions about how he died.

Authorities say a search warrant shows Rogers had a suicide note along with criminal citations and a military baseball hat inside his van.

Rogers’ father still wonders if he could have prevented his son’s death.

"I wish I would have had five more minutes to get there, so I could have hopefully talked him out of that van," Alonzo Rogers said.
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Firefighter Arrested After Weekend Standoff was Military Police Officer

Firefighter Arrested After Weekend Standoff

Attorney: Client Being Treated For PTSD

CINCINNATI -- A Deerfield Township firefighter was arrested after a standoff on Saturday.
Prosecutors said Nicholas Bomske broke into his girlfriend's parents' home in the 3700 block of N. Berkley Circle.

A SWAT unit was called in and residents were kept in their homes until Bomske was taken into custody.

At his arraignment Monday, Bomske's attorney said his client is a current firefighter and former military police officer who is undergoing treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
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