~ 720th Military Police Battalion Reunion Association History Project ~
1987 ~ Battalion Time Line
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III
Corps
89th MP
Brigade
Last Updated   9 August 2013
720th MP
Battalion
At the start of the year Battalion HQ Detachment and its organic companies of the 410th, 401st, and 411th, were headquartered subordinate to the 89th MP Brigade, III Corps, Fort Hood, Texas.
February
     U.S. officials suspected the Nicaraguan supported communist rebel forces operating in Honduras planned a spring offensive against the U.S. backed anti-communist Contra rebels. The Contras, who have sanctuaries in Honduras, have been operating inside Nicaragua in hopes of weakening and overthrowing the communist leftists Sandinista government of Daniel Ortega Saaverda, who is also supporting a rebel insurgency in El Salvador that threatens stability throughout Central America.
Exact Date Unknown The 401st MP Company was deployed to Honduras in preparation to support Operation SOLID SHIELD, an airborne / amphibious landing operation to show support for the Honduran government forces.
May

Operation SOLID SHIELD The exercise, based on a U.S. military contingency plan, was intended to simulate an American response to a request from Honduras to help fight Nicaraguan forces. The U.S. force, totaling about 5,000 soldiers and marines, was the largest ground combat force to have been deployed into Honduras since training exercises for American troops began there in 1983.
     The U.S. force consisting of Army paratroopers and U.S. Marine amphibious troop’s, will remain in Honduras for only a few days because the main point of the exercise was to show the U.S. capability to support the Honduran government. The operation also included similar joint training drops and amphibious landings in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, and Camp Lejeune, N.C., as well as a simulated evacuation of the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo on Cuba.
“We were deployed to Honduras TDY in February 1988 to I think June or July 1988. While there we provided everything from site and convoy security, to basic law enforcement. The Sandinistas from Nicaragua chased the Contra rebels into Honduras. This sparked President Regan to send an additional 3,500 extra troops (82nd Airborne) to show as an act of force. The best part of that was that the 82nd as "Gung-Ho " as they are, dropped in and acted like they were going to war. Keep in mind my unit was responsible for securing the drop zone so stray cows or whatever wouldn't interfere with the drop. There were no hostiles in the drop zone. If you talk to any of the 82nd guys on that drop, according to them they landed in a hostile zone. You will never convince them otherwise.” PFC (SFC Retired) Steven M. Wood, 4th Platoon, 3rd Squad, 401st MP Company, 720th MP Battalion, 1987-1990.
   WANTED: Information, official documents, photographs and personal stories from Battalion members regardless of MOS relating to the year 1987. Please contact the History Project Manager via the Email Link above.
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