{"id":358200,"date":"2025-01-20T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-21T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=358200"},"modified":"2025-01-21T17:16:29","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T17:16:29","slug":"usag-japan-welcomes-new-commander-for-88th-901st-military-police-detachments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=358200","title":{"rendered":"USAG Japan welcomes new commander for 88th, 901st Military Police detachments"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Col. Marcus Hunter, U.S. Army Garrison Japan commander, hands the unit guidon to Capt. Elias Esparza during a change-of-command ceremony for the 88th and 901st Military Police Detachments Jan. 8 at Kizuna Hall on Camp Zama, Japan.
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CAMP ZAMA, Japan \u2013 U.S. Army Garrison Japan welcomed a new commander for the 88th and 901st Military Police Detachments during a change-of-command ceremony Jan. 8 at Kizuna Hall here.<\/p>\n

Capt. Elias Esparza, who had previously served as the Garrison\u2019s chief of police, assumed command of the detachments from Capt. Sarah Baerman during the ceremony.<\/p>\n

Col. Marcus Hunter, USAG Japan commander, welcomed Esparza into his new role and thanked Baerman for her leadership of the detachments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are grateful for the presence, the patience, and the truly professional manner in which Captain Sarah Baerman has led our team as the detachment commander,\u201d Hunter said.<\/p>\n

He thanked Baerman for leading the 88th MP and 901st Military Working Dog detachments as they executed daily law enforcement responsibilities, trained and prepared for the broader U.S. Army Japan mission to respond to crises, ensured safety during multiple annual open-post events at Sagami General Depot and Yokohama North Dock, and supported the mission to protect U.S. government officials as they traveled through the Pacific.<\/p>\n

Hunter said Baerman demonstrated her resolve and driving force even before she took command of the detachments with her effort to secure funding for new patrol vehicles.<\/p>\n

After taking command, Baerman and her noncomissioned officers planned and helped increase individual and collective certification trainings, which were required after a continued growth in personnel.<\/p>\n

Because of that hard work, Hunter said, the detachments have their \u201chighest readiness ratings in two years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Sarah, for your example of positivity, willingness to do the hard things, and determination to press forward when the mission or circumstances are hard, but most especially for your cool consistency,\u201d Hunter said. \u201cYours is a great example of leadership for all of us to follow. Well done, and rest easy as you leave command, knowing that you leave the detachment in good hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunter then welcomed Esparza to his new role, acknowledging his experience with the detachment.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring this past year, Captain Esparza has served as our chief of police and has been on the front line of the law enforcement mission,\u201d Hunter said. \u201cElias, I counsel you to continue in your determination and drive to lead the detachment and our community.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd remain consistent in your execution of the standards and your caring for our personnel and families,\u201d he continued. \u201cYou have our full support and confidence, and we know you will maintain the readiness of our team and make us even sharper.\u201d<\/p>\n

During her final remarks, Baerman thanked her team for their hard work and cooperation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I assumed command in 2023, I promised to pursue excellence and asked you to practice the same habit,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd you have.\u201d<\/p>\n

She praised her team for increasing military police participation in joint exercises, in training fellow reserve Soldiers to assist during a major U.S. Army in Japan exercise, and in progressing from individual to collective training to improve military police mission readiness.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou practiced excellence in the everyday ways that allowed those other things to occur,\u201d Baermann said. \u201cYou showed compassion and selfless service when assisting community members. I learned so much from all of you, but I think most importantly I think I relearned to enjoy doing my job again, and how to trust those around me.\u201d<\/p>\n

She thanked Hunter and other leaders for their mentorship and guidance, and the many other organizations for their support of the MP mission.<\/p>\n

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\n From left, outgoing commander of the 88th and 901st Military Police Detachments, Capt. Sarah Baerman; U.S Army Garrison Japan Commander Col. Marcus Hunter; and incoming commander of the detachments, Capt. Elias Esparza, stand at attention during a change-of-command ceremony Jan. 8 at Kizuna Hall on Camp Zama, Japan.
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\n Capt. Elias Esparza salutes U.S. Army Garrison Japan Commander Col. Marcus Hunter after Esparza took command of the 88th and 901st Military Police Detachments Jan. 8 at Kizuna Hall on Camp Zama, Japan.
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Esparza said he was honored to be the incoming commander, and thanked Baerman for her exceptional guidance and leadership to the unit.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour legacy will not be forgotten, and I will do my best to continue the foundation of excellence you have established,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He also spoke directly to the Soldiers he will command.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy promise to you is to continue to pursue excellence in building and nurturing our team,\u201d he said. \u201cI am proud to join this team and to be part of Camp Zama and U.S. Army Japan\u2019s rich history and tradition of excellence.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Col. Marcus Hunter, U.S. Army Garrison Japan commander, hands the unit guidon to Capt. Elias Esparza during a change-of-command ceremony for the 88th and 901st Military Police Detachments Jan. 8 at Kizuna Hall on Camp Zama, Japan. (Photo Credit: Kei Sasaki, U.S. Army Garrison Japan Visual Information Division) VIEW ORIGINAL CAMP ZAMA, Japan \u2013 U.S. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":358202,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-358200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=358200"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358200\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":358206,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358200\/revisions\/358206"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/358202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=358200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=358200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=358200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}