{"id":5053,"date":"2021-01-25T18:36:11","date_gmt":"2021-01-25T18:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/?p=5053"},"modified":"2021-01-28T15:45:28","modified_gmt":"2021-01-28T15:45:28","slug":"maryland-citizen-soldiers-standby-to-support-state-police","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/2021\/01\/25\/maryland-citizen-soldiers-standby-to-support-state-police\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland Citizen-Soldiers Standby to Support State Police"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Sgt. Arcadia Hammack, 58th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade Public Affairs<\/em><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Members of the 629th Military Intelligence Battalion, Maryland Army National Guard, learn baton employment techniques.<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland \u2013 Maryland Army National Guard Soldiers of Task Force 291, the headquarters element for the currently deployed 58th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade, and its subordinate unit 629th Military Intelligence Battalion, joined ranks with Soldiers from the 29th Combat Aviation Brigade to conduct riot control training on Jan. 18, 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Maryland National Guard was activated to support security operations in the U.S. Capitol area, vaccination efforts in the state of Maryland, and a smaller force on standby ready to respond around the Maryland State House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile the Maryland National Guard sent many troops to D.C., a smaller group was kept back to protect Maryland and its citizens if needed,\u201d said U.S. Army Col. Kristine Henry, commander of Task Force 291. \u201cIn this capacity, we work at the direction of the Maryland State Police. I am so proud of these citizen-soldiers.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since being activated, the Soldiers have conducted joint-training operations with Maryland State Police and security forces personnel from the 175th Security Forces Squadron, Maryland Air National Guard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    \u201cIt’s been a very fast paced mission,\u201d said Army Spc. Esai Cunningham, a member of the 629th Mi Bn. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to do our best to support the Maryland State Police. It’s really good to see the Guard side and to see the safety side and how they mesh together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Cunningham worked for the Maryland State Police from 2017 until 2020, so this training was quite familiar to him, and he even became an instructor himself for his unit during this activation. He trained soldiers and airmen on the \u201cuse of force\u201d during civil disturbance training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The group, which consisted of approximately 55 Soldiers and 20 Airmen, conducted \u201cround robin\u201d training, where there were three blocks of instruction and each group rotated onto a new training. The security forces Airmen provided two blocks of training to include proper shield usage for riot control and baton usage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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