The 18th Military Police Brigade took control of the Iraqi Police Transitional Team mission at Camp Victory in Baghdad on Monday, marking the Mannheim, Germany-based brigade’s third deployment in five years.
Replacing the 89th MP Brigade out of Fort Hood, Texas, the 100-soldier unit now provides “command and control capabilities over military Police Transition Teams assigned to Multi-National Corps–Iraq.” The teams train and equip Iraqi police forces throughout the country.
The 18th MP Brigade takes over three weeks after two American soldiers were killed and dozens wounded in an indirect-fire attack on Camp Victory. Several Iraqi police officers have been arrested in connection with the incident, according to published reports.
“Even with the possibility of some of the infiltration, et cetera, the mission’s going to go on,” said Lt. Col. Rudolph Burwell, spokesman for the Multi-National Corps — Iraq. “The overwhelming majority of Iraqi police we work with are people we trust. It’s easy to focus on the bad, but you have to think of the hundreds we have full faith and confidence in.”
The MP brigade oversees about 5,000 American and coalition forces in Iraq.
“The 18th is no stranger to this mission, they are battle-hardened and ready to take on this mission here in Iraq,” Maj. Gen. James Simmons, deputy commander of Multi-National Corps–Iraq, said in a statement about the change of command.
