CARY, N.C. - The recent shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which killed five military service members is a somber reminder of real threats to our active duty, Guard and reserve forces. The incident triggered an increase in North Carolina National Guard security measures.
The Governor of North Carolina, Pat McCrory, authorized the NCNG to increase security measures at all Guard recruiting centers, armories and readiness centers. Trained and qualified NCNG military police (MP) now provide security for these facilities.
"We must fulfill our obligation to protect those who protect us," McCrory said.
The horrific shooting, in Tennessee, only reminds service members of the oath taken upon first enlisting; swearing to protect our country from enemies foreign and domestic.
"To me, this means I'm protecting my family," said Sgt. Jennifer Morrison, a NCNG military police officer assigned to protect the Guard's Cary, recruiting center. "I'm protecting my friends, my co-workers. I'm serving the people and being an MP. Being able to perform my MP duties is amazing and I love it."
When service members enlist into the National Guard as MPs, they must successfully complete several types of law enforcement and MP training which ensures they can safely protect soldiers as well and civilians.
"We do a lot of crowd control training, searches and detention operations," said Morrison. "We also execute infrastructure and facility security operations."
These recent events of violence against service members has strengthened relationships between the Guard and local law enforcement and given Guard recruits opportunities to ask MPs about their jobs.
"It's kind of a recruiting tool because I can show people what it is to be an MP and what they get to do," said Sgt. Marshall Clark, a soldier with NCNG's recruiting and retention battalion. "We get a lot of young recruits that come in and want to be MPs, and if they have any questions we can just pull one of our MP protection officers over here."
Having the MPs at NCNG recruiting centers provides a sense of security and allows recruiter to focus on their jobs.
"It's nice to know that if anything were to happen in our office we have someone here that can react to any danger," said Sgt. 1st Class Jennifer Fackrell, a soldier with NCNG's recruiting and retention battalion. "They keep an eye out our door because we can't easily see what's going on outside."
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