Navy Provisional Detainee Battalion TWO
Encyclopedia
Navy Provisional Detainee Battalion TWO (NPDB2) is a United States Navy
task force of 422 active duty and Naval Reserve
Sailors
formed May 1, 2006 for the purpose of combat duties in Iraq
.
(GWOT). The sailors were all "individual augmentees -- sailors who fill a non-traditional expeditionary combat support or combat service mission".
Prior to deploying in August 2006, they received three months of training from the Army
at Fort Bliss
, Texas
which included convoy operations, self-defense tactics, riot control, hand-to-hand combat, non-lethal weapons, first aid, search and seizure, and urban operations.
NPDB2 sailors served in Iraq
at Camp Bucca
under the command of the US Army's 16th Military Police Brigade. During its deployment one sailor was awarded the Purple Heart
for injuries in combat, and another died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Additionally, two sailors received battlefield promotions through the Combat Meritorious Advancement Program for their achievements during the deployment.
NPDB2 was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for extremely meritorious service during Operation Iraqi Freedom from 01-May-2006 to 01-Jun-2007.
on August 10, 2007.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
task force of 422 active duty and Naval Reserve
United States Navy Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve, until 2005 known as the United States Naval Reserve, is the Reserve Component of the United States Navy...
Sailors
Sailors
Sailors is the plural form of Sailor, or mariner.Sailors may also refer to:*Sailors , a 1964 Swedish film*Ken Sailors , American basketball playerSports teams*Erie Sailors, baseball teams in Pennsylvania, USA...
formed May 1, 2006 for the purpose of combat duties in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
.
Overview
NPDB2 was formed under the Individual Augmentation Program, that trains US Navy members from all Navy communities (aviation, submariners, surface, hospital corps) to fill manpower shortages for in theater assignments in the US led Global War On TerrorismWar on Terrorism
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
(GWOT). The sailors were all "individual augmentees -- sailors who fill a non-traditional expeditionary combat support or combat service mission".
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
at Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in the U.S. states of New Mexico and Texas. With an area of about , it is the Army's second-largest installation behind the adjacent White Sands Missile Range. It is FORSCOM's largest installation, and has the Army's largest Maneuver Area behind the...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
which included convoy operations, self-defense tactics, riot control, hand-to-hand combat, non-lethal weapons, first aid, search and seizure, and urban operations.
NPDB2 sailors served in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
at Camp Bucca
Camp Bucca
Camp Bucca was a detention facility maintained by the United States military in the vicinity of Umm Qasr, Iraq. As of June 2011, a group of entrepreneurial Iraqis and Americans are re-building Camp Bucca as Basra Gateway, a logistics city and environmentally-friendly industrial hub to lead the new...
under the command of the US Army's 16th Military Police Brigade. During its deployment one sailor was awarded the Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
for injuries in combat, and another died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Additionally, two sailors received battlefield promotions through the Combat Meritorious Advancement Program for their achievements during the deployment.
NPDB2 was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for extremely meritorious service during Operation Iraqi Freedom from 01-May-2006 to 01-Jun-2007.
Extended deployment
March 26, 2007 Commander of NPDB2 announced that personnel serving with the battalion, were being involuntarily extended as per a request by the Commanding General Task Force 134 for 3 months making it a total of 15 months deployed. Subsequently making the detainee battalion the longest "boots on ground" Navy unit since WWII. This news came to the sailors just 35 days prior to the units scheduled departure from Camp Bucca. The unit was redeployed to Naval Station NorfolkNaval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia, is a base of the United States Navy, supporting naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean...
on August 10, 2007.