Garrison Public Affairs Office
The 97th Military Police Battalion cased its colors during a ceremony at King Field House Tuesday, ending nearly 21 years of continuous service at Fort Riley and marking another transition in the Army’s modernization efforts.
“This battalion has been there at the most critical points in our nation’s story,” said Col. Lillian I. Woodington, commander of the 89th Military Police Brigade. “From Europe in 1945 to Gitmo in 2024, the Guardians have always answered the call with professionalism and grit.”
“Guardian Soldiers and leaders helped shape who I am,” said Lt. Col. Tommy E. Sieker of his time as the battalion commander. “Watching these colors be cased is tough, but I know the 97th will rise again when the nation calls—just as it has so many times before.”
Over the past two years, the battalion deployed elements to Poland, the Southern Border, and Guantanamo Bay while simultaneously inactivating three companies, two detachments, and its headquarters. The unit also divested tens of thousands of pieces of equipment, 15 buildings, and transitioned more than 1,000 Soldiers and families.
As part of the battalion’s inactivation, the 300th Military Police Company — one of the Army’s most decorated MP companies — also cased its colors, concluding more than eight decades of distinguished service.
The ceremony honored the service of past and present Guardians and recognized the battalion’s contributions to the 1st Infantry Division and the Fort Riley community since 2005.
The battalion carries an 80‑year legacy that spans nearly every major conflict since World War II.
The battalion began its longest chapter when it was reactivated at Fort Riley in 2005. Over the next two decades, Guardian Soldiers deployed repeatedly in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, Homeland Defense missions along the Southern Border, and law enforcement and force protection missions across Eastern Europe. Most recently, the battalion headquarters redeployed from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where it served as the headquarters element for Task Force Guard, overseeing high‑threat illegal‑alien holding operations in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security.
A proud subordinate unit: The 300th Military Police Company
As part of the Guardian Battalion’s formation, the 300th Military Police Company brought its own distinguished history to Fort Riley. Constituted in 1942 and activated at Fort Myer, Virginia, the 300th served in Vietnam, earning multiple Meritorious Unit Commendations and the Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm. The company later deployed to Stuttgart, Germany, where it earned the prestigious JP Holland Award as the Army’s top MP company and supported Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, the 300th MP Company deployed to Somalia, Guantanamo Bay, the Balkans, and the Military District of Washington before supporting multiple rotations in Iraq and Afghanistan during the Global War on Terror. In more recent years, the company deployed to Germany in 2019 and Poland in 2024 in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve. Its Soldiers continued to serve under the 97th MP Battalion until the unit’s inactivation, contributing to law enforcement, combat support, and global readiness missions.