JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Approximately 80 Alaska Army National Guardsmen assigned to the 297th Regional Support Group’s 297th Military Police Company are deploying to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility at the end of March in support of Operation Spartan Shield for about nine months.

While in CENTCOM AOR, the 297th MP Company will be tasked with providing law enforcement and personnel security details through OSS’s mission to build partner capacity in the Middle East to promote regional self-reliance and increase security.

The Soldiers deploying are military policemen and are trained to protect lives and property on military installations by enforcing military laws and regulations. They also control traffic, respond to all emergencies, and provide crime prevention measures.

The 297th MP Company last deployed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2013. The unit was also called upon to provide disaster relief to Cordova, Alaska, in January 2012, after an unprecedented snowfall lead to a state emergency. Most recently, the unit performed defense support to civil authorities and security operations in Washington, D.C., in support of the 58th Presidential Inauguration in 2017.