DECEMBER 11, 2025 – After a three-month mobilization to D.C., Georgia Army National Guard Soldiers attached to the 170th Military Police Battalion returned home to Georgia, December 9, 2025.
The unit supported the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission by providing critical assistance to the Metropolitan Police Department and community partners to enhance public safety and quality of life throughout the district. Senior leaders of the Georgia Army National Guard welcomed the Soldiers home once they landed at Dobbins Air Reserve Base.
Col. Copeland Rowell, commander of the battalion’s parent brigade, 201st Regional Support Group, commended the unit on how they accomplished the mission.
“I am very proud of these Soldiers,” Rowell stated. “They mobilized in a very short amount of time, put their lives on hold, and did a phenomenal job.”
Part of the D.C. mission required troops to patrol in heavily populated areas, typically in four to six man teams, leaving the junior non-commissioned officers in charge to operate independently on their own with general guidance.
The 170th MP BN task force commander, Lt. Col. John Turk, praised these NCO’s on how they operated.
“Our sergeants and staff sergeants were the tip of the spear on ground,” Turk stated. “They went out and made those hard in the moment decisions which was the key to our success.”
Supporting local authorities in providing a safe and secure environment isn’t new to the 170th MPs. Their primary mission is to provide Defense Support of Civil Authority for the state of Georgia, FEMA Region 4.
“The 170th MP Battalion has a history in supporting these types of missions,” Rowell stated. “Where it be hurricane response or civil disturbance support, particularly in the southeast, they will probably be the ones on call for it.”
Soldiers have come back just in time to spend holidays with their families and friends.
Sgt. Tatyana Jenkins expresses her excitement in coming home to her two children.
“I have two kids, 2 years old and 9 months old,” stated Jenkins. “I’m ready to get home to them.”
Story by Maj. Amanda Russell
Georgia National Guard