716th Military Police Battalion | |
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![]() Unit insignia | |
Active | 10 January 1942–present |
Country | United States |
Branch | Active duty |
Type | Military police |
Size | Battalion |
Part of | 16th Military Police Brigade |
Garrison/HQ | Fort Campbell, Kentucky |
Nickname(s) | "Peacekeepers" "Saigon Warriors" |
Engagements | World War II Vietnam War Gulf War Iraq War War in Afghanistan |
Commanders | |
Current commander | LTC Phillip E. Mason |
Command Sergeant Major | CSM David J. Parthemore |
Notable commanders | LTC Gordon D. Rowe |
The 716th Military Police Battalion is a military police battalion of the United States Army based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. It is a subordinate unit of the 16th Military Police Brigade.
The battalion is subordinate to the 16th Military Police Brigade. It is headquartered at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Constituted on 10 January 1942 in the Army as the 716th Military Police Battalion, it was activated during the Second World War at Fort Wadsworth, New York on 15 January 1942. [1]
In September 1962 the battalion, then based at Fort Dix, Trenton, New Jersey, was deployed together with the 5th and 17th Field Hospitals, a public information section and a composite intelligence detachment as Task Force Charlie, part of the Federal military forces deployed to support the enrolment of James Meredith at the segregated University of Mississippi. [2] : 91 Arriving at the university on the morning of 1 October the battalion was used to secure the campus in the aftermath of the overnight rioting. [2] : 115–7 A company from the battalion would remain deployed at the university until 23 July 1963. [2] : 134
Company C, 52nd Infantry Regiment arrived in South Vietnam on 1 December 1966 and was assigned to the battalion.
By late 1967 the battalion's mission was security and law enforcement in the Saigon/Cholon/Tan Son Nhut metropolitan area, South Vietnam. Specific security missions, involving approximately 83% of the military police/security guard resources of the battalion, included the US Embassy, the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) Complex, VIP and General's quarters, Bachelor Officers’ Quarters (BOQ's), Bachelor Enlisted Quarters (BEQ's) and critical US facilities and installations throughout the city. This security mission was primarily aimed at deterring terrorist acts. The law enforcement mission involved normal military police functions in a metropolitan area, to include criminal investigations. The battalion supported the requirements of the provost marshal, US Army Headquarters Area Command, for military police/security guards within the resources available. [3]
During the Tet Offensive of January–February 1968 the unit played a major role in the defense of Saigon against Vietcong (VC) attacks, in particular the attack on the US Embassy, battle of Cholon and Phu Tho Racetrack and the attack on the Joint General Staff Compound. [4] : 325–46 At the start of the Tet Offensive the battalion was configured to perform traditional military policing roles, however it soon found itself engaged in urban combat for which it was ill-equipped. The battalion was to provide support for USAHAC in the conduct of disaster recovery operations by providing security, damage control and prevention of pilferage. The concept of operations envisioned a disaster or VC destruction such as the blowing up of a US billet (similar to the Victoria Hotel attack) by VC personnel. After confirmation of a disaster by the provost marshal, the battalion was to dispatch a 25-man alert force to the affected area. The team was organised into a control and cordon team which would seal off and clear the damaged area of all unauthorized personnel; a rescue team which would evacuate casualties from the building and a search team to assists explosive ordnance personnel in locating other bombs or explosives. There was no provision in the plan for use of battalion military police as fighting units. This concept was applied in response to the initial attack on the Joint General Staff Compound which was believed to be an attack on BOQ-3 and the alert force was ambushed by VC resulting in 17 MPs killed. [3] : 13
Companies A and B were based at the Capitol BEQ 107 Dong Khanh St (now called: Hem 107 Tran Hung Dao on Google Maps) ( 10°45′09″N106°40′02″E / 10.7524°N 106.6673°E ), Cholon while Company C was based at MACV headquarters annex. [3] : 22
Companies A, B and C were inactivated on 29 March 1973 in South Vietnam. [1]
The unit served in the Gulf War (1990–91), Iraq War (2003-4 and 2007-8) and the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), West Africa Ebola Response (2014-2015) [1]
Ribbon | Award | Year | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | Presidential Unit Citation (Army) | 1968 | Saigon Tet Offensive [1] |
![]() | Presidential Unit Citation (Navy) | 2003 | Iraq |
![]() | Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) | American Theater | |
![]() | Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) | 1966 | for service in Vietnam |
![]() | Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) | 1968 | for service in Vietnam |
![]() | Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) | 1968–1969 | for service in Vietnam |
![]() | Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) | 1990–1991 | for service in Southwest Asia |
![]() | Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) | 2003–2004 | for service in Iraq |
![]() | Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) | 2004–2005 | for service in Afghanistan |
![]() | Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) | 2007-2008 | for service in Iraq |
![]() | Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) | 2012 | for service in Afghanistan |
![]() | Navy Unit Commendation | ||
![]() | Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm | 1965-1968 | for service in Vietnam |
![]() | Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm | 1968-1973 | for service in Vietnam |
Conflict | Streamer | Year(s) |
---|---|---|
Vietnam War | Vietnam Defense | |
Vietnam War | Counteroffensive | |
Vietnam War | Counteroffensive, Phase II | 1966–1967 |
Vietnam War | Counteroffensive, Phase III | 1967–1968 |
Vietnam War | Tet Counteroffensive | 1968 |
Vietnam War | Counteroffensive, Phase IV | 1968 |
Vietnam War | Counteroffensive, Phase V | 1968 |
Vietnam War | Counteroffensive, Phase VI | 1968–1969 |
Vietnam War | Tet 69/Counteroffensive | 1969 |
Vietnam War | Summer–Fall 1969 | 1969 |
Vietnam War | Winter–Spring 1970 | 1970 |
Vietnam War | Sanctuary Counteroffensive | 1970 |
Vietnam War | Counteroffensive, Phase VII | 1970–1971 |
Vietnam War | Consolidation I | 1970 |
Vietnam War | Consolidation II | 1971 |
Gulf War | Defense of Saudi Arabia | 1990 |
Gulf War | Liberation and Defense of Kuwait | 1990 |
Gulf War | Cease-Fire | 1991 |
Operation Iraqi Freedom | Liberation of Iraq | 2004–2005 |
Operation Iraqi Freedom | Transition of Iraq | 2006–2008 |
Operation Iraqi Freedom | Iraqi Surge | |
Operation Iraqi Freedom | Iraqi Sovereignty |
The Tet Offensive was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. The Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) launched a surprise attack on January 30, 1968, against the forces of the South Vietnamese Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), the United States Armed Forces and their allies. It was a campaign of surprise attacks against military and civilian command and control centers throughout South Vietnam. The name is the truncated version of the Lunar New Year festival name in Vietnamese, Tết Nguyên Đán, with the offense chosen during a holiday period as most ARVN personnel were on leave. The purpose of the wide-scale offensive by the Hanoi Politburo was to trigger political instability, in a belief that mass armed assault on urban centers would trigger defections and rebellions.
The U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) was a joint-service command of the United States Department of Defense, composed of forces from the United States Army, United States Navy, and United States Air Force, as well as their respective special operations forces.
Tet 1969 refers to the attacks mounted by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong (VC) in February 1969 in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War, one year after the original Tet Offensive.
The 1st Theater Sustainment Command is a major subordinate unit of United States Army Central at Fort Knox, Kentucky, United States.
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Phase Two of the Tet Offensive of 1968 was launched by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong (VC) against targets throughout South Vietnam, including Saigon from 29 April to 30 May 1968. The May Offensive was considered much bloodier than the initial phase of the Tet Offensive. U.S. casualties across South Vietnam were 2,169 killed for the entire month of May, making it the deadliest month of the entire Vietnam War for U.S. forces, while South Vietnamese losses were 2,054 killed. PAVN/VC losses exceeded 24,000 killed and over 2,000 captured. The May Offensive was a costly defeat for the PAVN/VC.
The 52nd Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Army.
Operation Toan Thang I was a U.S. Army, Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), 1st Australian Task Force and Royal Thai Volunteer Regiment operation conducted between 8 April and 31 May 1968 in the Vietnam War. The operation was part of a reaction to the Tet Offensive designed to put pressure on Vietcong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces in III Corps.
The year 1968 saw major developments in the Vietnam War. The military operations started with an attack on a US base by the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Viet Cong (VC) on January 1, ending a truce declared by the Pope and agreed upon by all sides. At the end of January, the PAVN and VC launched the Tet Offensive.
The Battle for Quang Tri occurred in and around Quảng Trị City, the northernmost provincial capital of South Vietnam during the Tet Offensive when the Vietcong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) attacked Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and American forces across major cities and towns in South Vietnam in an attempt to force the Saigon government to collapse. This included several attacks across northern I Corps, most importantly at Huế, Da Nang and Quảng Trị City. After being put on the defensive in the city of Quảng Trị, the Allied forces regrouped and forced the PAVN/VC out of the town after a day of fighting.
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Operation Fairfax was a joint counterinsurgency/pacification operation conducted by the II Field Force, Vietnam and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) in Gia Định Province, near Saigon lasting from November 1966 to 15 December 1967.
The attack on Tan Son Nhut Air Base, headquarters of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) and the United States Air Force (USAF) 7th Air Force, occurred during the early hours of 31 January 1968. Tan Son Nhut Air Base was one of the major air bases used for offensive air operations within South Vietnam and for the support of United States Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) ground operations. The attack by Vietcong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces was one of several major attacks on Saigon in the first days of the Tet offensive. The attack was repulsed with the VC/PAVN suffering heavy losses; only superficial damage was done to the base.
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This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History .