Unit doctrine calls for MPs to provide combat and peacekeeping support to an area the size of Delaware. The five-year-old MP unit has been growing rapidly personnel-wise, and at the same time fields new equipment such as the MK19, new carbines and other required weaponry, said Master Sgt. Donald Catalan, 153^rd Operations NCO.

"My people are better armed than an infantry company. We. ve got Mark 19. s (particularly nasty high-speed grenade launcher weapons mounted on Humvees), machine guns, rockets . . . and this is so we can put three men on a road, and close it down, he added.

Most people don. t appreciate the complexity of the MP mission, he mused. "Often they think of us as the guys who give a ticket on post or wave you by at the gate." However, the MP mission is wide-ranging and the five basic missions are to provide:

• Area security
• Maneuverability on a battlefield
• Control of Enemy Prisoner of Wars
• Law and Order
• Police Information Operations

During this particular FTX, the MPs focused mainly on providing base cluster defense for the entire Troop Command FTX. They patrolled roads in the operational sectors, provided escort between units and remained on call for any disturbance within the FTX area. All of this happened while the MPs themselves were conducting thorough training on common soldier skills. To show the flexibility of the unit, they also extended their expertise in supporting other units conducting common task training.

Early Saturday afternoon, an element of the 153^rd played the role of opposing forces against Det 1/444 Mobile Public Affairs in a mock convoy assault. Four MP soldiers lurked in woods along a muddy off-road path along the C&D Canal. When two tactical vehicles full of unsuspecting public affairs specialists reached the predetermined kill zone, violence was loosed from his cage. The driver of the lead vehicle, Spec. Nathan Bright, said, "When I saw the gunfire, I ducked and drove through the ambush in accordance with last month. s training on convoy movement. We were lucky to get out . alive.. "

But, of course, escape would have more difficult if the MPs had been firing live rounds.

A few miles to the north, along River Road, the 153^rd also controlled access to the 72d. s Headquarters FTX site by fighting the cold and windy conditions and providing a gate guard force to restrict movement of unauthorized personnel into the area.

"This was just another example of how we control the battlefield all the way from the front-lines to the garrison," Catalan said.