First responders save lives and enforce laws every day and the same goes for those in a military uniform.
Soldiers sign up to defend their country but soldiers like Staff Sergeant Caitlyn Creek take it a step further and add a badge to their uniform.
”A, I wanted to go to college and B, I wanted to be a law enforcement officer,” said SSG Caitlyn Creek, military police officer with the 89th MP Brigade. “You can’t join most police academies until you’re 21. So, at 18 I had the opportunity to join the Army, get my college taken care of, and get some experience.”
Just like a civilian officer, MPs need to understand local, state, and federal laws but they have military laws to enforce as well.
”There’s different rules and regulations that apply only here to the installation or only here to soldiers, that are assigned here to Fort Hood, that the average patrolman off post wouldn’t have to know,” said Jennifer Rounds, Deputy Chief of Police on Fort Hood.
SSG Creek keeps this in mind as she patrols the housing areas on the post.
”Just making sure that nothing suspicious is going on,” said SSG Creek. “Checking the backyards and checking the main roads. A lot of the time, maintenance will be out. So, if they’re impeding traffic, we make sure their vehicles are parked safely.”
When she is not checking to help at the gate or marking abandoned vehicles, she takes the time to get to know the people she is serving.
”If the kids are playing basketball or they are at the park, we’ll go and play with them or whatever,” said SSG Creek. “We do our best. If we see them out, stop and talk to them. It doesn’t hurt if you see someone out walking their dog. I always roll down my window and say good morning.”
MPs are police officers, but they are also soldiers. Making them better equipped to handle calls on the post.
”They are professional law enforcement soldiers and when you are having your worst day, those are the guys that you want to show up because they are soldiers,” said Rounds. “They know what you are going through, and they are going to take care of you.”
SSG Creek is just one of the many military police officers patrolling the streets of Fort Hood with a mission to enforce the law and protect the soldiers, families and civilians on post.
