Submitted by SFC Erick Studenicka
CARSON CITY – The Capital City’s military police element – the 137th Military Police Detachment – is set to become the Nevada Army Guard’s next unit to support an international mission. About three dozen of the unit’s military policemen and women are set to deploy to Romania this summer and support European Command.
The Soldiers are set to perform law and order missions on an Army base located in Romania. Law and order missions on the base will include: force protection, physical security and anti-terrorism measures. The Soldiers will also investigate crimes and enforce traffic regulations on the base.
This deployment has been set for more than one year and is not in conjunction with the conflict in Ukraine. The Nevada Guard has deployed to eastern Europe several times in its history; the 757th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion recently deployed to Poland in 2020.
The deployment to Romania will be the unit’s first foreign deployment since it served in Afghanistan in 2015-2016. It also deployed to Afghanistan in 2010-2011. The unit was located in Henderson, Nevada, until 2019 when it relocated and succeeded the 485th Military Police Company as the primary military police unit in northern Nevada.
Many of the deploying Soldiers are veterans of previous 137th and 485th deployments. The 485th deployed to Afghanistan in 2011-2012 and Kuwait in 2016-2017. This will be the fourth international deployment for detachment commander, Capt. Bryan Hernandez, a University of Nevada, Reno, ROTC graduate.
Two dozen of the unit’s Soldiers will remain in the Silver State and be available for any domestic contingencies.
The unit recently spent several days at the Hawthorne Army Depot preparing for its upcoming deployment. The unit’s Soldiers worked the “graveyard shift” from 4 p.m. until 4 a.m. each night to complete needed prerequisites before deployment.
“The training went really well – there are a lot of tasks to accomplish before we deploy,” Hernandez said. “We spent the time in Hawthorne undergoing external evaluations. We worked overnights to become proficient in low-visibility operations, an important requirement before departing.”
The 137th will leave Nevada for its final pre-deployment training in July. The detachment will reach Romania in August. It will spend nine months in Romania before returning to the Silver State.
One Nevada Army Guard unit is already deployed internationally. Seventy Soldiers in Delta Company, 1st Squadron, 221st Cavalry are currently in Kuwait. They departed last November are due back in Nevada this autumn.
