MP unit colors passed due to the death of Lt. Col. Orlando

[NcDeuce]

MP unit colors passed to new commander

While Fort Campbell soldiers are deployed to the Middle East, The Leaf-Chronicle will provide periodic updates of troops' activities as available from the 101st Airborne Division Public Affairs in Iraq and other sources.

Soldiers of the 716th Military Police Battalion, "Peacekeepers," 101st Airborne Division Monday watched 101st commander Maj. Gen. David Petraeus pass their unit's colors to a new commander after a skirmish in Karbala left their former leader, Lt. Col. Kim Orlando, and two other soldiers, dead.

Lt. Col. Ashton Hayes took command of the battalion in the assumption of command ceremony amid the arid, ancient Iraqi city of Babylon.

"As many of you know, there is a formula for change of command ceremonies," Petraeus said.

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Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander, 101st Airborne Division, passes the 716th Military Police Battalion flag to Lt. Col. Ashton L. Hayes, signifying the battalion's change of command. Hayes took over after the death of former commander Lt. Col. Kim S. Orlando Oct. 16 in Karbala.

"Today's ceremony, however, is not a normal change of command. If it were, we would be standing on the freshly-cut grass of the Division Parade Field (at Fort Campbell). Our families would be in the bleachers, and, of course, the outgoing commander would be sitting next to the incoming commander.

"We all know what's missing today -- our families, Lt. Col. Orlando and several of your other comrades," Petraeus continued. "And those absences, especially that of (Lt.) Col. Orlando, who would have played such a key role in this ceremony, weigh heavily on us ... so though all changes of command are emotional occasions, this one is unquestionably more so."

Orlando led the Peacekeepers, the most decorated military police battalion in the U.S. Army, throughout Operation Iraqi Freedom, in support of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, directing the establishment of seven Iraqi police academies where more than 6,000 Iraqi policemen were trained, Petraeus said.

Much of Hayes' experience comes from his time at Fort Bragg, N.C.

He was deputy provost marshal of the 82nd Airborne Division, operations officer and later executive officer for the 503rd MP Battalion and executive officer for the 16th MP Brigade while at Fort Bragg.

Following Orlando's death, Hayes was quick to respond to the void with which the 101st was left, Petraeus said.

[WARPIG]

I am a soldier and proud member of the United States Army Military Police Corps Regiment. I am Of the Troops and For the Troops. I believe there is no higher calling than to ASSIST, PROTECT, and DEFEND my fellow soldiers, their families, and the basic ideals of our Constitution that guarantee our freedom and our American way of life. I am always ready to help individual soldiers retain or regain their dignity. I assist commanders in performing their missions, safeguarding their commands, and maintaining discipline, law and order. I am proud of the Military Police Corps Regiment and fully understand the awesome responsibility given to all military police soldiers. At the same time, I am humble because I know that I am a servant of my country and my Army. To perform my duties properly, my honesty, integrity, and courage must be balanced by competence, alertness, and courtesy. I know I am constantly in the public eye and my behavior sets the standards of excellence of my fellow soldiers. To my unit, my commander, and myself, I promise sustained, just and honorable support. To my country, the Army and my Regiment, I promise the skills of my training, my physical ability, my mental initiative, and my moral courage, for I am a soldier in the MILITARY POLICE CORPS REGIMENT.

We will continue Sir.