Burdette serves with Mississippi MP’s in security detail

By John Howell
Como Police Chief Earl Burdette cannot tell about his experience as part of the security apparatus surrounding the January 20 inauguration of President Donald J. Trump without launching into a recruiting pitch for the military.
“I’ll tell any kid looking for something to do: try the military,” said Burdette, an Army Reservist with the 112th Military Police Battalion based in Jackson. “I’ve seen the world for free and have stories of adventures in places I went that I only got there through the military.”
And it was as a military policeman that Burdette served in Washington during Trump’s inauguration.  Burdette and the other 140 MPs in his unit joined other soldiers and MPs as part of the 8,000 person military detail providing security for the event. The 112th MP Battalion left Jackson Wednesday night, January 18, after briefings. They landed at Andrews Air Force Base and were staged in the hangar that houses Air Force One.
“When we landed they had it all rolled out,” Burdette said.
They were up at 2 a.m. on Friday, inauguration day, and transported to the Washington National Mall. When the ceremony began, Burdette and fellow MPs were among the throngs of spectators about “200 yards from where they were speaking,” he said. Large screens were placed along the mall to give spectators a close view and audio of the inauguration.
“It’s mind-bloggling, the security it entails — layers upon layers. A lot of effort goes on to protect the president’s life.”
Burdette found his duty peaceful. “The violent ones were downtown,” he said, referring to anti-Trump demonstrators. The police chief-turned MP wore a body armor but was unarmed, he said, unlike his duty during the second inauguration of President Barack Obama, when he helped guard the walking route of the inaugural parade.
The reservist MP’s duties also put him in close proximity to President George W. Bush, once at Ft. Hood, TX to guard the fuel for Air Force One while the president visited his Crawford, TX ranch, and again in 2005 at Keesler AFB when President Bush landed to survey damage from Hurricane Katrina.
Burdette’s military career began with the three-year enlistment in the Regular Army, followed by 25 years in the Reserves. His duty assignments have taken him to Alaska, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, North Carolina, Cuba and Honduras, among other places.
“The benefits are worth it,” the part-time MP, full-time police chief said. “Medicine, food, clothes, insurance, plus the pay is good.
“It’s a way to stay out of these mean streets,” he added.