Military Police

While trying to keep up with what is going on in the Military Police (MP) these days I looked up some information on the internet and let me tell you it appears nothing is the same these days (2019) as it was when I was in the US Army MPs (1970-1991).

I am guessing my Father and his brothers who served in the US Army in WWII and Korea had the same experience hearing about the changes in the US Army when they talked too me in the 1970s about the Army.

A quick search of the internet for US Army MPs came up with the following information about the current (2019) US Army and the MPs.

The US Army MPs have MP Officers (31A), MP Warrant Officers (311A), Enlisted Soldiers (31B), as well as Civilians who serve as CID Special Agents (1811) and of course Civilian office support folks.

The Military Police Corps is the uniformed law enforcement branch of the United States Army. Investigations are conducted by Military Police Investigators or the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command (USACIDC), both of which report to the Provost Marshal General

U.S. Army MP units have combat zone responsibilities in addition to their law enforcement duties. These responsibilities include mounted and dismounted patrols, response force operations, area damage control, route reconnaissance, cordon and search operations, and convoy and personnel escorts. Operationally, these duties fall under the "security and mobility support" discipline of the Military Police Corps. Since the beginning of the Global War on Terror, military police have become a valuable asset to combat operations due to the versatility of the MOS

US Army Enlisted soldiers are categorized by their assigned job called a Military Occupational Specialty or MOS are labeled with a short alphanumerical code called a military occupational core specialty code (MOSC), which consists of a two-digit number appended by a Latin letter. Related MOSs are grouped together by Career Management Fields (CMF). For example, an enlisted soldier with MOSC 31B works as a Military Policeman (his MOS) and is part of CMF 31 (the CMF for Military Police).

The US Army their enlisted job specialties, "MOS's," or "Military Occupation Specialties.

Below are the Army MOS's that fall into the Law Enforcement Field:

31B - Military Police

31D - Criminal Investigation Special Agent (CID)

31E - Internment/Resettlement Specialist

31K- Working Dog Handler 

There are many more changes, but the rest of the changes can be looked up for those who want more information. This is just a snap shot of how different the US Army MPs are today.

US Army Pay Issues – Vietnam/Fort Hood – 1970s

Along time ago in a land far far away the US Army in all its wisdom decided to pay me an advanced pay as well as my regular pay to assist me in my travels from the War to my next assignment at Fort Hood, Texas.

At the time I was a Specialist Four (SP4) Military Policeman with the 509^th Radio Research (RR) at Can Tho, Vietnam.

I traveled from Can Tho to Saigon by helicopter and once on the ground took a jeep over to the side of the airport where my civilian aircraft waited for me.

My flight from Saigon to Los Angeles National Airport (LAX) was long, with a stop in Japan and Alaska. Left LAX for Dallas International Airport which was also a long flight with no stops.  My brother in law met me at Dallas, he was a pilot and had his own private plane. We Left Dallas in his aircraft and an hour later landed at the Waco Airport.

I spent 30 days of leave in Waco, and my family and I drove from Waco to Fort Hood for my new assignment.

Trying to find an apartment was not easy and the apartments were expensive but after a month my family and I were settled in. I was working with the 258^th MP Co and all was right with the world.

At the end of my second month at Fort Hood I was advised the Army decided they should not have paid me advance pay when I left Vietnam and immediately took back the amount paid me in the advanced pay.

At the time the Army took back the advanced pay I was still a SP4 with very little savings. Talk about a shock, lucky for me my parents loaned me the money to keep the apartment, lights, water, phone, gas for the car, till I could get paid a regular paycheck again.

When I complained to the Army finance office, I was told I should have known I was not authorized an advanced pay and no money would be refunded to me and my monthly paycheck would be zero till the advanced pay was paid off.

Wow, who knew a SP4 at the age of 22 would know all about advanced pay which the finance office told me I had to take and use for expenses on my trip from Vietnam to Fort Hood!

Life in the US Army in the early 1970s was not always fun, but it was exciting.

Fort Ord, CA – Fort McClellan, AL - Hanau Germany- Remembered

In the late 1970s I (Robert W. Busby) finished a three-year tour of duty as a United States Army Criminal Investigation Division Command (CID) Special Agent (SA) serving as a Specialist Sixth Class (SP6) at Fort Ord District CID office located adjacent to Seaside and Monterey California. My new assignment would be the CID Resident Agency (RA) in Hanau, Germany, however I had to attend the Senior Noncommissioned Officer Advanced Course (NCOA) #3B at Fort McClellan, AL before going to my new duty station at Hanau.

This change in my travel plans was not easy or fun since my wife Military Police (MP) Woman SP4 Christy Lynn Busby had orders to arrive at Hanau to serve in the Hanau Military Police the same time as my previous travel plans.

Christy and I were a US Army Military married couple, she served as an MP while I served as an MP/CID. As long as neither of us were in the same chain of command we had no problems being married to each other.

Christy traveled from her MP unit at Fort Ord, CA to Hanau without me while I traveled to Fort McClellan, AL to attend the three-month long NCOA course.

The Army wanted all its SP6s trained when it came time for them to be promoted to SP7 or Sergeant First Class.

My NCOA class of twenty-five consisted of Military Occupational Specialties (MOSs) SP6 95Ds – Criminal Investigators, SP6 95Cs – Correctional Specialist and Staff Sergeant’s (SSG) 95B – Military Police.

The NCOA course in the 1970s and 1980s prepared select NCOs for greater responsibilities in leadership and management. The curriculum was designed to meet senior NCO needs, which consisted of lectures, small group seminars, physical training, and field training, at the MP Senior NCO level for the first four weeks. At the start of the fifth week through the eleventh week the 95Ds/95Cs/95Bs moved to their individual MP/CID MOSs training modules since each career field had different types of specialized training.

One hitch involving my training was having to take a  one week brake (eleventh week) from the training academy and fly from Fort McClellan, AL back to Fort Ord, CA for five days since I was ordered to testify at a General Court Marshal. The court martial pertained to some fifteen soldiers who were detained by CID for possession and sale of drugs. Yep, before I left Fort Ord, I spent time running the Drug Suppression Team (DST).

Several months before I left Fort Ord for NCOA training my DST team of two SAs and two MP Investigators (MPI) worked in a semi-undercover drug operation at Fort Hunter Liggett, CA resulting in numerous soldiers being detained.

The NCOA folks were not happy but since my skills and abilities were adequate for the NCOA modules and it worked out I did not miss any evaluations or test; I graduated with my fellow students.

The twelfth week of NCOA training all the MP/CID folks returned to the same training module and graduated together and then headed back to their individual MP/CID units.

My trip from Fort McClellan, AL to Hanau, Germany was long and when I arrived at Frankfurt International Airport in Germany I was drained and still had a long drive to Hanau.

When I arrived in Hanau, I met up with my wife Christy who had a room at the Hanau Officers Club, apparently my fellow CID folks took care of Christy getting her and me a room there. We were only able to stay another week since neither of us were officers.

Chris was working as an MP Desk Clerk at the Hanau MP Station and I was working in the same building at the CID office. Housing for two enlisted married soldiers is not and was not easy to find, so we ended up staying in a German Hotel not far from Pioneer Kaserne, the US Army Military Poste the MP/CID station was located on.

I have written many stories about Ord, McClellan, Hanau, yall just have to find them to enjoy them.

http://bobbywaynesays.blogspot.com/2014/06/hanau-drug-team.html

Almost Remembering

There are times when trying to remember something from the past is not as easy as it should be. Memories can be elusive and even when you think you have found the memory you are looking for there is no guarantee that memory will be complete.

Over the years my memories have decided to show up for my review and let me tell you some of those memories were wild, crazy and could never have happened or could they?

When possible I try and jot down the details of a memory as soon as it comes to my mind and hope I can expound on the memory flash so I and others can hopefully enjoy a trip down memory lane. I do not write about really bad memories, and even change the names and locations of a memory at times in order to protect those who may have been in those memories and reading about those times now.

Jotting down memories these days are easy since the internet showed up. As mentioned I have been writing about my memories for some time now and can go back and look at those memories and compare them with similar memories checking out the dates, locations, events,and  people mentioned.

Being able to cross check previously written memory moments with newly acquired documents lets me update memories and even expand memories recorded. There are still memories with gaps in them and those that do not match up, but for the most part, the memories I write about are as close to the real memory as anyone will ever know.

I write about the life and times of me as those memories present them selves so my family will know what sort of life I have lived or at least as best I can remember those moments - Smiles and Frowns.

My written memories are posted in hopes others who were present in those moments will remember even more about those times and comment on the memory without dredging up the ugly parts of life and keeping the memory more about the good times.

More fun, smiles, and exciting memories may follow when and if those memories surface.