According to the Tennessee Department of Military, a Tennessee National Guard Unit, the 267th Military Police Company, will soon deploy to the Middle East.
“The 267th, headquartered in Dickson and with a detachment in Waverly, is a military police unit comprised of National Guardsmen trained in various security, policing, detention, and combat functions which enables the Army to maneuver freely, provide protection to the force, and promote the rule of law,” the Tennessee Department of Military said in a release. “The unit is initially deploying to Kuwait and then sending teams to countries throughout the Middle East to support other forward deployed military units.”
“We have assembled an incredibly well-trained and professional team,” said Capt. Cristian Johnson, commander of the 267th Military Police Company. “Our Soldiers have been working hard and are ready for the mission ahead, as well as anything else we are tasked to do.”
1st Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester, the 267th’s senior non-commissioned officer, said the group expects to visit several countries throughout its employment, though she did not specify exactly which ones.
“We will be based primarily out of Kuwait and sending teams and squads to different countries throughout the region,” she said. “We expect to be in 8 to 9 different nations and multiple airbases and ports over the next year. It will be a very dynamic mission, requiring our teams to be flexible and agile, but our unit has the best leaders and military policemen in Tennessee, we couldn’t be more prepared.”
As reported by The Tennessee Star, the Tennessee Army and Air National Guard will also spend time training in Bulgaria, about 500 miles from the Ukrainian border, during the month of June.
According to a release from the Department of Military issued in March, “more than 170 military personnel from the Bulgarian Armed Forces, the Hellenic Air Force in Greece, and the Tennessee Army and Air National Guard will focus on developing and improving skills which include combat medical care, aircraft fire rescue, joint operations, logistics and sustainment, aeromedical evacuation, and weapons training.”
In February, two Tennessee National Guard pilots were tragically killed in a helicopter crash while training in Madison County, Alabama.
Those guardsmen were Chief Warrant Officer 3 Daniel Wadham of Joelton, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Danny Randolph of Murfreesboro, both of whom had served for more than a decade, and were assigned to A Company, 1-230th Assault Helicopter Battalion, from Nashville’s Berry Field Air National Guard Base.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter.
Photo “More Than 150 Soldiers from Tennessee’s 267th Military Police Company Deployed to Kuwait” by Tennessee National Guard.
