US Army MP Guard At Fort Hood, Texas

Back in the early 1970s my first assignment to a real MP Company was the 258th MP Company at Fort Hood, Texas. In previous stories of my days in the US Army mentioned my first tour as an MP was with the Army Security Agency, 509th RR, 144th AVN Co, 156th AVN which is true, but the MPs were attached to the ASA, we did not have a real MP Company!

On my return from Viet Nam to Fort Hood, Texas was released from the ASA MPs to the 258th MP Co and was happy to be pulling road duty and doing more of what I thought a real MP should be doing. After all aircraft security, facility security, and convoy security was interesting in Viet Nam, but needed that feeling of being a street cop.

Should have known since my time with the 258th MP Co was enjoyable something would happen to change me having a fun time. After three months of MP road duty the 258th MP Co was moved from MP road duty to assist in prisoner security at the military stockade at Fort Hood!

Back in those days we were cross trained in lots of duties MPs were task to do, but even with Correctional Specialist (CS) training, working in a Military Prison was not what I wanted to do. The start of my forth month at Fort Hood I became an MP Correctional Specialist. We were given a one week crash course on how to be a Correctional Specialist; we were working in the prison while learning, or as they called it, Post Stockade.

During this time frame the Viet Nam War was drawing down and lots of military prisoners were being transferred back from Viet Nam to local military post stockades where it was then determined if they were released, held locally, or moved to other military or civilian prisons. Fort Hood seemed to be getting more prisoners than they could handle, the local MP Correctional Unit had to pull in the 258th MP Co and a rotational Infantry Unit to assist in guarding the prison population.

Fort Hood has always been a Wild West kind of military post three divisions of regular Infantry, Armor, and Special Troops then toss in about four hundred plus prisoners and the mix was explosive. For some strange reason some of these prisoners worked at a military unit during the day but slept at the stockade, talk about strange.

Prisoners at the Hood Stockade were not happy folks and in my experience did anything they could do to aggravate the MPs and CSs. Most of the MPs were assigned prison yard security, the infantry had the guard towers and outside perimeter fence security and the real correctional specialist got the honor of sitting with the prisoners in their cell blocks. A cell block at Hood was a WWII wooden barrack.

We had 25 prisoners on the bottom floor and 25 prisoners on the top floor with one CS on each floor and one MP at the gate to the building. The building was surrounded by a 9 foot chain link fence with barb wire on top with one entrance and exit which had a double gate so the cell block was always secured near the front of the building.

While I was at Hood we had 10 cell blocks with 50 prisoners in each cell block with 2 CS in the cell block and one MP to monitor all the entrance exit gates. While in Viet Nam I had taken several MP training courses by mail and received a diploma for completing the Correctional Specialist Course!
That piece of paper moved me out of the MP guard function and into the CS function on the bottom floor of a cell block. So depending on what shift pulled got to march them to work, unit, mess hall, training, yard time, or be in the building while they were in the building.

Many of these prisoners were in the stockade for assault, aggravated assault, arson, attempted murder, and murder. The folks who did the minor crimes were at another facility, had to move them after running out of room at the post stockade. We also had three folks who were in for murder under suicide watch and let me tell you that duty was no fun at all.

Once I got the hang of the CS duty was starting to think this might be a good change of jobs for awhile. In those days we had to have two specialty Military Occupational Specialties, mine were 95B Military Police and 95C Correctional Specialist.

The sixth month of 12 hour duty at the Hood Stockade with a three day break between work weeks, decided there may be a better deal than being a 95C. Stockade was over flowing with dangerous folks, all we could do when they got out of line was give them demerits, subdue them if needed, move them to a more secure area of the cell blocks and none of that seemed to do any good.

On a Friday as I was moving from the main stockade area to the cell block for my shift at 1500 hrs, could feel the tension in the air and see the angry looks on the prisoner’s faces, they were not happy with their situation. Advised the sergeant of the guard (SOG) of my concerns, he was Infantry; the 95C counterpart was not available to talk to. The sergeant of the guard was of the opinion the prisoners did not have any say in their situation and to hell with them.

While at my station in cell block three on the bottom floor, noticed the prisoners gathering, raising their voices, getting upset. Moved to the area they were in and ask them to calm down and explain, they began to yell, push each other, and started fighting. Made my way quickly to the front of the cell block where I could hear the same sort of activity on the second floor as the top floor CS came running down and the two of us made our way to the double gate yelling for the gate guard. We got out just as the mass of folks came running out of the building after us. We again ordered the prisoners to calm down and go back to the building, like that was going to happen.

The Infantry tower guard had sounded the alarm and the security teams were moving in from the barracks area in case more fighting broke out. Infantry sergeant of the guard arrived and was briefed, he ordered just the two of us CS to go in and restore order, and we declined till we could talk with the CS sergeant of the guard.

The infantry guy went into the cell block by himself saying he would restore order; it did not turn out well. Once we got the SOG out of the cell block and to the aid station for medical attention the CS SOG arrived and directed the security forces into a defensive posture around the cell block fences and ordered the prisoners to move back to their bunks and stand by for the security forces to move in.

The prisoners in the other cell blocks apparently did just that and security forces moved into those cell blocks to determine if there were problems. However, the folks in cell block three started throwing items out of the windows, and set fires in the building before moving out to the yard area with sections of bunk beds as weapons.

The SOG ordered the security forces in and the mini-riot ended with a few minor injuries to the prisoners who rebelled and burned their barracks. The fire department moved in and put out the fire, it was contained to cell block three. These prisoners would be living in tents for some time in cell block three.

I learned that day that working as a CS at the stockade or prison could be exciting and even dangerous when folks got upset at the system.

The next day the Powers-That-Be offered an early out to soldiers (not prisoners) who served in Viet Nam, had two years service, and would spend the remained of their active duty time with the National Guard or Army Reserve.

It took only three hours for the program to get enough soldiers into the release program to close it down. Two weeks later I was a 95B convoy specialist assigned to a Texas National Guard unit in Waco, more to follow on the life and times of ME…Smiles