By Staff
Staff reports
The 1165th Military Police Company departed the Brewton Armory in late-September as part of Task Force Alabama deploying to the state of Louisiana in support of disaster relief and is anticipating a return to Brewton at the end of the month.
The 1165th Military Police Company departed for Merridian, Miss. the afternoon of Sept. 24 and arrived at the Mississippi Air National Guard Airport that night.
The 1165th MPCO staged with other units from the state of Alabama for two days at the Airfield.
On Sept. 26, the unit once again moved to the Louisiana Air Guard Base located at Alexandria, La. There, the unit spent one night before deploying to DeRidder, La. to support local government agencies and law enforcement with security of relief operations and law and order for the local civilian population.
The 1165th MPCO provided security for the main distribution center in DeRidder, and they provided security for four distribution sites throughout Beauregard Parish. The Longville, Merryville, West Beauregard and Sugartown sites were about 15 to 30 miles away from the Main Distribution Center in DeRidder. Squads were tasked with convoy security and site security.
On Oct. 2, the unit received orders from Task Force headquarters to move from DeRidder to the Cajun Dome in Lafayette, La. At the Cajun Dome, the 1165th replaced units from Washington D.C. National Guard. The mission was to provide security and law and order operations in support of local police and sheriff operations already set in place.
To date, Sgt. Franklin Barnes, operations sergeant, said that the 1165th has provided security for up to 3,500 evacuees placed in the Cajun Dome. The 1165th has also provided local law enforcement agencies with law and order support, and the unit has conducted approximately 25 to 30 arrests ranging from disorderly conduct, drug related arrest to felony fraud.
The 1165th MPCO has been deployed for 31 days, and Sgt. Barnes said he is anticipating an arrival back in Brewton on Oct. 31, with no change forseen in the missions.