The 8th Military Police Brigade is a

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

based at

Schofield Barracks Schofield Barracks is a United States Army installation and census-designated place (CDP) located in Honolulu and in the Wahiawa District of the Hawaiian island of Oahu, Hawaii. Schofield Barracks lies adjacent to the town of Wahiawā, separated ...

, Hawaii. It is responsible for Army military police units within the

United States Indo-Pacific Command The United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) is the unified combatant command of the United States Armed Forces responsible for the Indo-Pacific, Indo-Pacific region. It is the oldest and largest of the unified combatant commands. Lead ...

Area of Responsibility Area of responsibility (AOR) is a pre-defined geographic region assigned to Combatant commanders of the Unified Command Plan (UCP), that are used to define an area with specific geographic boundaries where they have the authority to plan and c ...

. Activated during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, the 8th Military Police Brigade was specifically organized to provide planning, direction, and supervision for the criminal investigation work required by the U.S. Army in Vietnam. It replaced a provisional Military Police Group (Criminal Investigation) that had been formed on 3 November 1966 in charge of all criminal investigative work in Vietnam, except for the metropolitan Saigon area. In July 1972, it became the basis for the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Center, Vietnam Field Office. It served in the region for several years and earning ten campaign streamers before being deactivated during the American forces pullout from the region. The brigade was reactivated in South Korea in the 1980s to provide command and control for all U.S. Pacific military police forces, and has since been moved to Hawaii, where much of U.S. Army Pacific is located.

Organization

The Brigade is a subordinate unit of 8th Theater Sustainment Command of U.S. Army Pacific. The 8th Military Police Brigade consists of three battalions: the 303rd Explosive Ordnance Disposal Battalion, 728th Military Police Battalion, and the 125th Finance Battalion. 728th MP BN "Warfighters" consists of the Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, the 58th and 552d Military Police companies, and the 520th Military Police Working Dog Detachment. The 71st Chemical Company is attached to the 303rd Explosive Ordnance Disposal Battalion along with the 64th and 716th EOD Companies serving in Alaska.

History

Vietnam War

The 8th Military Police Group was originally constituted on 8 April 1967 in the

regular army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a ...

and activated on 26 July at

Fort Riley Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Ge ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. After seeing only five months of duty, the group was again deactivated on 18 December of that year. On 24 August 1968 the group was again activated, this time in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. Its activation was part of a larger activation of several military police groups in the region to provide greater command and control for Military Police operating throughout the region. As such, the headquarters element took command of military police units already operating in the country. The Brigade provided policing duties, based in Long Binh along with the

89th Military Police Group The 89th Military Police Brigade is a military police brigade of the United States Army based at Fort Hood, Texas. It is a subordinate unit of III Armored Corps. Activated in Vietnam in the midst of the Vietnam War, the unit provided militar ...

. During that time it was a subordinate unit of the

18th Military Police Brigade The 18th Military Police Brigade is a military police brigade of the United States Army based in Vilseck, Germany, with subordinate battalions and companies stationed throughout Germany. It provides law enforcement and force protection duties to ...

. It received its

distinctive unit insignia A distinctive unit insignia (DUI) is a metallic Heraldry, heraldic badge or device worn by soldiers in the United States Army. The DUI design is derived from the coat of arms authorized for a unit. DUIs may also be called "distinctive insignia" (D ...

on 12 November 1969. The group operated in Vietnam until the pullout of U.S. forces from the nation, receiving ten

campaign streamer Campaign streamers are decorations attached to military flags to recognize particular achievements or events of a military unit or service. Attached to the headpiece of the assigned flag, the streamer often is an inscribed ribbon with the na ...

s for its role in the conflict.

Reactivation and South Korea

The 8th Military Police Brigade (Provisional) was constituted in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

in September 1984 in response to the need for cohesive command and control element in the event of war, for the numerous non- divisional Military Police units on the

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

. At the time it consisted of the 94th Military Police Battalion in

Yongsan Yongsan District (, ) is one of the 25 districts of Seoul, South Korea. It has a population of 231,685 (2020) and has a geographic area of , and is divided into 19 '' dong'' (administrative neighborhoods). Yongsan is located near Downtown Seoul, ...

(Seoul) and the 728th Military Police Battalion in

Taegu Daegu (; ), formerly spelled Taegu and officially Daegu Metropolitan City (), is a city in southeastern South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; the fourth-largest List of provincial-level ci ...

(Camp Walker). However, the brigade would remain provisional and would not be officially activated for another ten years while it operated in this capacity. In 1995, the concept plan was approved for the activation of a military police brigade headquarters in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

. The 8th MP Brigade was officially activated on 16 April 1996 to provide command and control for the 728th Military Police Battalion and the 94th Military Police Battalion in

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

and to serve as the theater military police brigade during hostilities. The same day, it received its

shoulder sleeve insignia Shoulder sleeve insignia (SSI) are distinctive cloth patches worn on the left sleeve of the United States Army uniform just below the shoulder seam by soldiers assigned to divisions, corps, armies, and other specifically authorized orga ...

. In July 2006, the 8th MP Brigade Headquarters and the 728th MP Battalion were reassigned to U.S. Army Pacific and moved from Korea to

, Hawaii. It was placed under the command of the newly created 8th Theater Sustainment Command. The command is responsible for preparing the 25th Infantry Division and other 8th Army units for worldwide deployment.

Global War on Terrorism

Iraq War

Subordinate units of the brigade's 728th MP Battalion deployed to

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

in October 2004 to provide military police duties while the Army formed a clear rotational schedule for MP units coming and going from the country during

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

. In October 2007, the Brigade again deployed elements of the 728th MP Battalion to

for 15 months in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The units suffered several casualties, including soldiers killed in ambushes and vehicle accidents. Brigade headquarters deployed in the fall of 2008 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In July 2008, the 8th MP Brigade began its move into Iraq with a pre-deployment site survey to support the upcoming deployment into the country. The brigade headquarters replaced the

, which ended its deployment in fall of 2008. The 8th MP brigade continued the training and expansion of the national

Iraqi Police The Iraqi Police (IP) is the uniformed police force responsible for the enforcement of civil law in Iraq. Its organisation, structure and recruitment were guided by the Coalition Provisional Authority after the 2003 American invasion of Iraq, ...

force in the

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

area. On 2 December, the brigade officially took control from the 18th MP brigade and began its deployment.Vigilant Brigade concludes 15-month deployment
retrieved 12 December 2008.

Honors

Campaign participation credit

Decorations

References

{{reflist

External links

008 008, OO8, O08, or 0O8 may refer to: * "008", a fictional 00 Agent In Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and the derived films, the 00 Section of MI6 is considered the secret service's elite. A 00 (pronounced "Double O") is a field agent who ho ...

Military units and formations established in 1967 Military units and formations disestablished in 1967 Military units and formations established in 1968 Military units and formations disestablished in 1972 Military units and formations established in 1984