Military Police Corps (United States)

In 1863, the Office of the Provost Marshal General was established and oversaw the

, the VRC maintained law and order at garrison areas, while other provost guard units served on the front lines. After the war, the Office of the Provost Marshal General was discontinued as the Union Army disbanded.

Spanish–American War

During the Moro Rebellion following the Spanish–American War, the United States founded the Philippine Constabulary. Training began in 1902, and Brigadier General Harry Hill Bandholtz was appointed as chief of the Constabulary in 1907.^[7]

World War I

The complexity of warfare during

In 1917, CPL Charles W. Baltimore, a black MP soldier stationed at

Houston Riot

, which killed four soldiers and sixteen civilians, and 60 black soldiers were executed or sentenced to life in prison.

World War II

During

to the South Pacific.

When the Red Ball Express (a supply route stemming from Normandy to the front lines) was established in August 1944, MP performed route reconnaissance and security to keep the trucks and supplies flowing. This was the 793rd Military Police Battalion's (deactivated in 2014) first mission in theater and commemorated this in their coat of arms and unit insignia; which consists of a field of green, a yellow road, and two red disks symbolizing the famed route.

Thanks to the actions of First lieutenant John Hyde and his detachment of MP, The Corps was heralded for gallantry at

General's Office and has continued investigative activity since.

After the war ended, cavalry units in Germany were utilized to form the United States Constabulary, a police-like patrol organization. It was disbanded in the 1950s.

In 1949, the newly formed Defense Department was in the process of reorganizing the Army and plans were developed to disband the Military Police Corps. But when Congress passed the Army Reorganization Act in May 1950, the Corps survived, remaining a separate branch of the Army.

Korean War and Vietnam War

When North Korea invaded South Korea in June 1950, there were some MP units stationed in Korea. One of those was the 55th Military Police Company, which had been assigned to Camp Ascom in December 1948. Most of those military police units that arrived during the early months of the war came from Japan, where they were serving as occupation forces following World War II. While the majority of MP companies came from outside Korea, most of the battalions of the Korean War were formed on the peninsula

During the Korean War, Military Police kept supply routes open. Subsequently, Military Police monitored the exchange of prisoners and patrolled the demilitarized zone. Military Police, adapting to a different style of warfare in Vietnam, earned status as a combat support arm, partially as a result of combat success during the Tet Offensive.^[11]

Current role

18th Military Police Brigade

deploying to Iraq.

During

, MPs were used extensively to maintain control over the large numbers of detainees being held by coalition forces, as well as helping to conduct raids, convoy security and regular patrols. MPs were the main force responsible in rebuilding and training the Iraqi Police. Ever since the invasion, military police have been one of the most heavily engaged military occupational specialty in the Iraqi theater. In the United States, MPs often provided disaster relief and internal security, while still fulfilling their fundamental function of maintaining discipline and security within the Army.

Women in the Military Police Corps

Women in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps were assigned Military Police duties as early as 1941.^[12] By 1943, soldiers in the Women's Army Corps were trained as Military Police in order to police female soldiers, although they had jurisdiction over all soldiers, including males.^[12] Women have since served in the Military Police Corps, which has given the regiment some distinction. (In the 1953 Film Off Limits, Bob Hope plays a character who joins the Military Police so he can train with women.) Females were officially accepted into the Military Police Corps in 1975. As the Women's Auxiliary Corps was disbanded the Military Police stood up to accept and train women alongside their male counterparts. Female MPs have crossed many gender barriers in the United States Armed Forces.

• In the 1983
  Invasion of Grenada, 4 female MPs from the 118th Military Police Company (Airborne) were deployed to Grenada. Conflicting views of women in combat caused them to be ordered back to the United States, only to be ordered back to Grenada days later.^[13]
• In the 1989
  Valor.^[15]
• SGT Leigh Ann Hester became the first woman since World War II to receive a Silver Star, for her actions in Iraq on 20 March 2005.^[16]
• Tulsi Gabbard became the first female to graduate Alabama Military Academy as the OCS distinguished honor graduate in March 2007,^[17] and one of the first women combat veterans to serve in United States Congress.^[18]
• In 2010, Brigadier General
  Provost Marshal General of the Army.^[19]
• In 2015, CPT Kristen Griest, a military police
  commissioned officer, became one of the first two women to successfully complete U.S. Army Ranger School.^[20]
• SFC Jeanne Balcombe and PFC Tekoa Lurray Brown became the first two female Military Police soldiers killed in the line of duty (both in 1999) to be added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC (Balcombe: Panel 60-E: 21 Brown: panel 61-E: 21)
• On 27 May 2021, Command Sergeant Major Veronica Knapp, a Military Police soldier, became the first female CSM of a United States Army Division when she assumed the leadership role with the 101st Airborne Division.
• SGT Leigh Ann Hester, an NCO with the Kentucky National Guard’s 617th Military Police Company, became the first woman to earn the Silver Star for combat valor through her actions on 20th March 2005, in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.

In 2008, 25% of the MP Corps were women.

Modern U.S. Army Military Police

Uniforms

89th MP Brigade

In the U.S. Army, a simple patch with the legend "MP" worn on the left arm distinguishes a military-police soldier wearing the

). For both garrison law-enforcement duty as well as for tactical field work, the patch is a subdued brown with black lettering.

U.S. military police used to be distinguished by a brassard worn on the left arm when on duty in previous uniform versions such as the Battle Dress Uniform. The brassard was black with white lettering for garrison law-enforcement duty and could include extra designations such as "Customs MP" or "K-9 MP" (for dog handlers). Tactical brassards were green with black lettering for temperate climates and sand with light brown lettering for desert duty.

When wearing a Class A or B uniform, they are authorized to wear combat boots instead of regulation low-cut shoes. However, like Airborne soldiers who may only wear the boots while on jump status, MPs may only wear these boots with Class A or B uniforms when performing law enforcement duties.

During World War II, the emblems used were a wide white band around the helmet or a white helmet liner or a white peaked cap, a white webbing Sam Browne belt, white gloves, and white gaiters, atop the standard olive drab uniform. From this clothing, the nickname they were given by the British civilians at the time was "snowdrops." An MP armband was also worn on the left arm, usually black or dark blue with white letters.

Weapons

The standard personal weapons of the United States Army military police, for many years, was the

anti-tank weapons, as well.

Military Police also utilize the use of PEDD (Patrol Explosive Detection Dogs) and SSD (Specialized Search Dogs) K9 Military Working Dogs.

Units

Fort Bragg

, N.C.

For a list of Military Police units and distinctive unit insignias, see

List of United States Army Military Police Units

.

Military Police are considered maneuver support, and MP units may be organized at many different levels, based on the size of the unit it is meant to support. An Army Corps may contain one MP brigade, which is responsible for training and supplying subordinate Military Police units. When MP units are deployed, their parent unit may maintain administrative control (ADCON) while relinquishing tactical control (TACON) to the deployed unit being supported.

Military Police Investigations

Investigations are conducted by Military Police Investigators or Special Agents with the

. Army CID is the Department of the Army’s criminal investigative organization, reporting directly to the Under Secretary of the Army. CID Special Agents investigate felony crimes, regardless of the incident location, which has an Army nexus.

Special Reaction Teams

Fort Bragg

in 2005.

The United States Army has proponency via FM 19-10 for the special reaction team mission for the Army Military Police

The SRT units in the

Heraldic items

Branch insignia

1. Two crossed gold color flintlock pistols 3/4 inch in height.
2. The insignia was approved in 1922.
3. The M1805 pistol, sometimes referred to as the Harper's Ferry Pistol (
   Harper's Ferry Model 1805
   )(made at the Harper's Ferry Arsenal), was selected since it was the first American military pistol and remained the Army model for many years. The parts of this weapon were standardized and inter-changeable, thereby marking an advance in arms production.

Branch plaque

• The plaque design has the branch insignia, letters, and rim in gold. The background is green.

Regimental insignia

1. A gold color metal and enamel device 1 3/16 inches in height consisting of a shield blazoned as follows: Vert, a fasces palewise, axe Or and rods Proper (brown), thereover in fess a balance and in saltire overall a key with bow in sinister base and a sword with hilt in dexter base all of the second.
2. The shield is enclosed at bottom and sides by a gold scroll of three folds inscribed ASSIST PROTECT DEFEND in green letters and surmounted at the top by two crossed gold pistols.
3. The regimental insignia was approved on 3 July 1986.

Regimental coat of arms

• Description

1. The coat of arms appears on the breast of a displayed eagle on the regimental flag.
2. The coat of arms is: Vert, a fasces palewise, axe Or and rods Proper (brown); thereover in fess a balance and in saltire overall a key with bow in sinister base and a sword with hilt in dexter base all of the second.
3. The crest (On a wreath of the colors Or and Vert a pair of crossed pistols of the first) is displayed above the eagle's head.
4. The background color of the flag is green and the fringe is yellow. The coat of arms was approved on 2 May 1986.

• Symbolism

1. Green and gold are the colors associated with the Military Police Corps.
2. The fasces is an ancient symbol of authority related to a Roman magistrate.
3. The balance is symbolic of equal justice under law and the key signifies security.
4. The sword represents the military.
5. The crossed pistols are the symbol of the Military Police Corps mission: to uphold the law and to keep order.
6. The motto ASSIST, PROTECT, DEFEND reflects the mission.

Branch colors

• Green piped with gold.

1. The color yellow piped with green was assigned to the Military Police by Army Regulation 600-35 dated 20 April 1922.
2. With the establishment of gold for the Armor and the use of green for the insignia on the Armor flag, the colors for the Military Police were reversed.
3. The current colors, green piped with gold, were assigned by Army Regulation 600-60-1 dated 26 October 1951.

In popular culture

• The novels by Lee Child tell the story of Jack Reacher, a former U.S. Army military police major who commanded CID special agents.
• The
  GI Joe Characters Law & Order
  are an Army Military Police Officer and K9 team.
• The
  GI Joe character Chuckles
  is an Army CID Special Agent - Criminal Investigator.
• The 1992 novel by Nelson DeMille titled The General's Daughter tells the story of Army CID Special Agent Paul Brenner. The book was made into a movie of the same name in 1999 starring John Travolta in the role of Brenner.
• The 2003 film Basic has the character Army Captain Julia Osborne, played by Connie Nielsen investigating a murder for CID.
• Throughout seasons 4 and 5, of the CBS drama NCIS, Army CID Agent Hollis Mann makes six appearances. She was a Lieutenant Colonel.
• Stana Katic played Army CID Special Agent Adrian Lane in one episode of the CBS military drama The Unit, in the ninth episode of its third season.
• The 2019 thriller novel The Deserter by Nelson DeMille features Army CID Special Agent Scott Brodie as its main character.
• Willem Dafoe and Gregory Hines played U.S. Army CID Special Agents in the 1988 mystery thriller film Off Limits.
• In the 2017 first-person shooter Rising Storm 2: Vietnam, players can wear military police uniform and helmets while playing as U.S Army, if they have Rear Echelon Cosmetic DLC installed.
• The A-Team was being chased by the Military Police for most of the series run.

See also

• List of United States federal law enforcement agencies
• List of United States Army Military Police Corps units
• Military police § United States
• Military law
• Military Police Regimental Association
• United States Air Force Security Forces
• Master-at-arms (United States Navy)
• United States Constabulary (gendarmerie)
• United States Pentagon Police
• Department of the Army Civilian Police
• Department of the Air Force Police
• United States Marine Corps Civilian Police
• United States Coast Guard Police

Notes

References

Further reading

• Cucullu, Gordon; Fontana, Chris (2011). Warrior Police. Rolling with America's Military Police in the World's Trouble Spots. New York: St. Martin's Press.
  ISBN 978-0-312-65855-7
  .
• Robert K. Wright Jr., ed. (1992). Military Police. Army Lineage Series. United States Army Center of Military History.
• MP: The Story of the Military Police in WWII
• US Army Lineage Series Military Police
• History of the Military Police School
• History of the Military Police Corps
• 545th MP Comp Cavalry MP

External links

• Official website
• USMC MP School official site
• U.S. Army SRT information
• U.S. Army Field Manual 19-10, Chapter 21 "Special Reaction Team".
• Stars and Stripes Article: Featuring SRT
• SRT Training at Walter Reed