Armories: Headquarters – West Plains, Missouri, Detachment 1 – Springfield, Missouri
The 1138th Military Police Company was federally recognized and assigned to West Plains, Missouri with a Detachment in Doniphan, Missouri, on 15 January 1968. The 1138th MP Company Headquarters, one platoon and the machine gun section was located at West Plains and the detachment at Doniphan was made up of the rest of the Company consisting of two platoons. The 1138th MP CO was originally assigned to the 204th MP Battalion. On 1 March 1969 it was reassigned to the 205th Military Police BN. On 1 March 1973 it was returned to the 204th MP BN where it remained until the 204th was deactivated on 30 September 1986. Upon the deactivation of the 204th MP BN it once again fell under the 205th MP BN.
In December, 1989, the 1138th MP CO made history by being the first National Guard Unit called into Active service since the Vietnam War for Operation Just Cause (Panama). As part of its traditional Internment/Resettlement Mission, the 1138th MP CO set up a detainee camp at Empire Range where it handled masses of both civilian and military detainees. It was during Operation Just Cause that the first woman in Army National Guard history was called to serve in combat operations.
On 1 August 1995, the 205th MP BN was again deactivated and the 1138th MP CO, along with four other Companies, fell under the 175th MP BN for command and control.
On 1 July 1993 Doniphan, Missouri was realigned and became a Detachment for the 735th Support BN at Poplar Bluff, Missouri. The 1138th MP CO was reassigned with a Detachment in Springfield. A command decision was made to move the 1135th MP CO to West Plains, to replace the 1138th. Instead, the flag was transferred and the Company kept its name and recognition as the 1138th MP CO. On 1 October 1996, Mountain Grove, Missouri was assigned as a second detachment of the 1138th MP CO. The 1138th MP CO was reassigned as a combat support MP CO on 1 October 1996. In 1998 the Mountain Grove detachment was deactivated. On 1 October 1998, the 1138th MP CO was once again reassigned as an Enemy Prisoner of War (EPW) Company; the only EPW Company in the state of Missouri.
On 15 November 1990, the Unit was mobilized and deployed to Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm. They remained in Saudi Arabia five months guarding EPWs. On 20 June 1993, the Unit was mobilized for State Emergency (Flood) Duty (SED) in support operations. While mobilized, the Unit served in northeast Missouri for approximately three months performing Law and Order operations.
Just days after the attacks of 11 September 2001, the Unit was mobilized as part of Operation Noble Eagle. The Unit served on Active Duty from 1 October 2001 thru 21 September 2002 performing Law and Order duties at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. The 1138th MP CO again deployed for Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom again serving on Active Duty from 10 February 2003 thru 21 December 2003. Upon arrival into the Middle East, the Unit conducted Customs, Physical Security Detail and Law and Order missions throughout Kuwait and Doha, Qatar.
On 31 August 2005 the 1138th Military Police Company deployed with the 175th MP BN to Jefferson Parrish, Louisiana in support of relief operations for Hurricane Katrina. While deployed in Louisiana, the 1138th MP CO performed Law and Order operations and Area Security missions, returning on 21 September 2005.
In recent history, while preparing for yet another Active Duty deployment to Iraq, the rural Missouri Ozarks Region was hit by a harsh wave of winter weather and in January, 2009, the 1138th MP CO deployed a contingent of Soldiers to aid winter storm victims in Southeast Missouri for Operation January Ice.
After Operation January Ice concluded, the Unit began its preparation for a Detainee Operations mission in Baghdad, Iraq. While preparing for deployment with a sister Missouri Army National Guard Military Police Company (the 1140th MP CO – deploying to Afghanistan), nearly fifty 1138th MP CO Soldiers were outsourced from the 1138th MP CO to backfill slots with the 1140th MP CO. The 1138th MP CO, in turn, backfilled its ranks with “In-Lieu-Of” Military Policemen from twenty-three other Missouri Army National Guard Units and on 21 May 2009, the Unit reported to Camp Clark, Missouri for Pre-Mobilization Training. While there, the Unit exceeded every goal established by the Command and was hailed by the Regional Training Institute as the strongest Unit to have pre-mobilized through Camp Clark. The Unit then reported for Post-Mobilization Training at Ft. Bliss, Texas and after mastering a 20-day mission evaluation exercise, deployed to the theater of Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 09-10.
The 1138th Military Police Company is one of the most deployed Unit’s in the state of Missouri and throughout history, its Soldiers have always answered the call to duty and performed well above grade. The Soldiers that comprise the 1138th MP CO give true meaning to the term, “Minute Men”.