Chief, Military Police Corps Regiment, and Commandant, United States Army Military Police School

Military Police, May, 2001 by Donald J. Ryder

The Warfighter Symposium has come and gone, and it was a great success. I was pleased to see the leadership of the entire Regiment come together on the eve of the Army's Transformation. We were honored to have General Abrams provide us with his thoughts and insights as we move forward to the Objective Force. I was also pleased to see the great interest by our Reserve Component units, fully demonstrating that we are truly one force.

This year' s theme, "Transformation--The Regiment on Point," exemplifies our continued commitment to maintain ourselves as a viable asset to the Objective Force and that we continue to be the force of choice in today's operational environment. The integration of new technologies and concepts marks the essence of the Transformation. We have already seen some of this with the fielding and employment of the ASV. As the Army continues down this path, we must transform with it. We must be willing to integrate these new technologies and concepts into our operations, while maintaining the excellent support we currently provide. I am confident that our outstanding soldiers will continue to lead the way.

This month, we bid a fond farewell to Brigadier General and Mrs. Foley. BG Foley retired after 31 years of service to the Regiment. Nearly every MP has been influenced by the Foleys at one time or another. We will miss his outstanding leadership and positive attitude. We wish him and Pam the best in the years to come.

This month also marks the end of my tenure as your Commandant. It has been a great honor to serve in this position with the finest soldiers in the world. We have seen some significant changes in the past few years. We closed the doors at Fort McClellan, Alabama, marking the end of a chapter in the history of the Regiment. In true MP style, we began a new chapter at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and quickly set the standard for excellence. We opened world-class training facilities and are training more soldiers and civilians than ever before. I asked you to perform monumental tasks, and each of you has exceeded the standard. As I visit units around the world, I am continually amazed at the exceptional performance I am seeing. I am proud to have served as your Commandant. Lisa and I look forward to seeing all of you in the future.