Yuma soldiers in 855th coming home
After a year in the Middle East, 53 soldiers of the Yuma- and Phoenix-based 855th Military Police Company are scheduled to return from their yearlong deployment late Monday night.
According to Sgt. Ed Balaban, of the Arizona Army National Guard, the soldiers were scheduled to arrive at the 52nd Street Armory in Phoenix at 11 p.m. “The last word we got was they were on a commercial flight out of Philadelphia, heading this way,” he said Monday afternoon.
A brief welcome-home ceremony for the unit was scheduled to be held Monday evening at the Phoenix armory. The director of the Arizona Army National Guard, Col. Matthew J. Brown, will be the presiding officer.
The company deployed in September 2009, headed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. A charter bus carrying 25 members of the Yuma-based 1st Platoon left from the National Guard Community and Training Center, located at 24th Street and Araby Road, on the 23rd with a full police escort.
As the bus pulled onto Araby Road that morning and headed for Interstate 8, it had a police car in front of it and two motorcycle units behind it, all with flashing emergency lights.
The Yuma-based 1st Platoon of the 855th Military Police Company is made up of law enforcement and other federal officers from around Yuma County.
The almost 170 soldiers of the unit initially went to Fort Dix, N.J., for 30-45 days of training prior to departing for Iraq. Balaban said arrangements for the return of the rest of the unit are currently being made.
Balaban said the soldiers of the 855th MPs 1st Platoon completed over 200 combat missions throughout Ninewah Province and the Tigres River Valley during their deployment.
Their missions, he said, included assisting, advising and training Iraqi police, and providing personal security detachments and movement mobility support operations. The unit's goal was to provide a trained, skilled and independent Iraqi police force in order to provide a secure environment for the Iraqi people, Balaban said.
The soldiers also conducted humanitarian aid missions in support of Provincial Reconstruction Team operations such as food drops, school drops and project proposals for roads, water and electrical improvements.
One of the largest operations conducted was security for the U.S. Embassy representatives overseeing the Iraqi elections, ensuring the voting was conducted in a secure environment without violating free election regulations throughout Ninewah Province.
Yuma members of the National Guard's 855th Military Police Company:
1st. Lt. David Skurda
Master Sgt. Johnny Vidrio
Staff Sgt. John Gawler
Staff Sgt. Alejandro Zepeda
Staff Sgt. Pete Barwick
Staff Sgt. Jesus Salgado
Sgt. Chris Anderson
Sgt. Christian Cazares
Sgt. Robert Colwell
Sgt. Chris Hix
Sgt. Allen Ienn
Sgt. Lance Schroeder
Spc. James Barnett
Spc. Matthew Beckendorf
Spc. Jesus Campuzano
Spc. Ricardo Castillo
Spc. Jessica Gonzalez
Spc. Seth Hocking
Spc. Peter Lefebvre
Spc. Juliann Main
Spc. Jose Prieto
Spc. Roberto Sanchez
Spc. Darrin Templeton
Spc. Amber Walker
Pfc. Daniel Orines
James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.
