Fort Drum MPs celebrate National Police Week with community youths

By Mike Strasser, Fort Drum Garrison Public AffairsMay 20, 2022

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Fort Drum MPs celebrate National Police Week with community youths
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc. Daphne Duke and Spc. Landon Porter (in the protective suit) provide a military working dog demonstration to Fort Drum family members May 20 during the Storytime with Military Police” event at the Robert C. McEwen Library. (Photo by Mike Strasser, Fort Drum Garrison Public Affairs) (Photo Credit: Michael Strasser) VIEW ORIGINAL
Fort Drum MPs celebrate National Police Week with community youths
2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc. Daphne Duke and Spc. Landon Porter provide a military working dog demonstration to Fort Drum family members May 20 during the Storytime with Military Police” event at the Robert C. McEwen Library. (Photo by Mike Strasser, Fort Drum Garrison Public Affairs) (Photo Credit: Michael Strasser) VIEW ORIGINAL
Fort Drum MPs celebrate National Police Week with community youths
3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc. Daphne Duke, with 8th Military Police Detachment, 91st MP Battalion, reads a children’s book at McEwen Library on May 20 for a special “Storytime with Military Police” event. (Photo by Mike Strasser, Fort Drum Garrison Public Affairs) (Photo Credit: Michael Strasser) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT DRUM, N.Y. (May 20, 2022) -- In celebration of National Police Week, Soldiers with the 8th Military Police Detachment, 91st MP Battalion, visited the Robert C. McEwen Library on May 20 for a special “Storytime with Military Police” event.

Spc. Daphne Duke entertained a group of children as she read from the book, “I’m Afraid Your Teddy is in Trouble,” which appropriately had a fun “law and order” theme for the occasion. In the story, two police officers respond to the antics of a mischievous teddy bear who is disturbing the peace in his neighborhood.

“I really enjoyed getting to read to kids today,” Duke said. “I don’t spend a lot of time with kids so it was really nice to see the expressions on their faces when they are seeing something new and interesting.”

Afterward, the MPs led the group outside to introduce them to Military Working Dog Kemal. Spc. Landon Porter donned a thick protective suit, which Kemal clamped down on to show how he apprehends a suspect.

After demonstrating how the patrol dog responds to the different commands, the MPs answered questions about Kemal’s age, what he eats and what military working dogs do in the Army.

“We love doing MWD demonstrations in the community,” Duke said. “It gives us an opportunity to help teach people what we do, and especially for kids, it shows that we are here to help. The fun part of our job is showing the capabilities of our dogs because kids are used to house dogs, and after seeing our demonstration we hope they learn something and maybe are even be inspired.”

Samantha Marsh, Storytime coordinator, said that there is an added level of excitement when guests are invited to Storytime.

“It is so much fun for the children to have someone new come in and read to them,” she said. “They get to see me twice a week, so somebody new brings this great excitement into the room. They all were looking forward to the MPs this week.”

Earlier in the week, children were preparing for National Police Week by making police badges. After the MP visit, the group made police hats.

The next story reading at the library is an outdoor activity called Storywalk. Held in conjunction with the Army Strong BANDS program, the Storywalk encourages reading and exercise as attendees walk around the library, reading a page of a story at different stops. Members of the Fort Drum Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program will demonstrate a different exercise at each station for children to try.

The event is scheduled at 10 a.m., May 24, at the Robert C. McEwen Library. For more information, call (315) 772-9099 or visit www.facebook.com/RobertCMcEwenLibrary.