The Military Police Corps is one of the youngest branches of the
United States Army. It was officially established on 26 September 1941, although it has an irregular history dating back to 1776.
Military Police in the Revolutionary War The Military Police Corps traces its lineage and history back to the
American Revolution. General
George Washington requested that the staff position of
Provost Marshal be created to deal with disciplinary issues. In January 1776, William Maroney was appointed as the first Provost Marshal of the Continental Army. The Provost Marshals relied on soldiers temporarily drawn from other units, and had difficulty enforcing discipline. On 20 May 1778, Congress established the Provost Corps, which General Washington referred to as the "Marechaussee." Under the new organization, the Provost Marshal was responsible for soldiers under custody and for punishments, while the Marechaussee was tasked with the enforcement of order within the Continental Army. The Marechaussee Corps would be formed exclusively as a police organization, and was organized and equipped as light dragoons, utilizing their speed to aid in troop movements and moving prisoners from the battlefield. The Marechaussee protected the Army's rear and flanks during troop movements, searched for stragglers, guarded river crossings, and engaged in combat when needed, as in the
Battle of Springfield. The Provost Corps was disbanded in November 1783.
World War I The complexity of warfare during
World War I required a corps of specially-trained soldiers to handle massive numbers of prisoners of war and control the movement of troops and supplies in the zones of operation. The Military Police Training Department was established 9 September 1918 at Caserne Changarnier in
Autun, France. In 1917, CPL Charles W. Baltimore, a black MP soldier stationed at
Camp Logan in Texas, inquired into the beating of a black soldier by Houston police and was himself beaten and arrested afterwards. The racial tension which followed led to the
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
World War II, Military Police schools were established at
Camp Gordon,
Fort Benjamin Harrison, with the Military Police Replacement Center established at
Fort Custer. MPs also trained for port security at
Fort McHenry. and managed enemy prisoners of war from
Italy 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
Remagen, as a fighting force in numerous combat actions and as peacekeepers at war's end. In 1944, the Army again saw the need for a unit to investigate crime involving soldiers in Europe. The
United States Army Criminal Investigation Division was established as a branch of the
Provost Marshal 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.
Current role doing a vehicle search in
Fallujah, July 2003 During
Operation Just Cause,
Operation Desert Shield and
Operation Desert Storm, the Military Police provided area security, conducted battlefield circulation control, and exercised custody over thousands of
POWs. Since 1991, the Military Police have assisted with interventions in
Somalia,
Haiti and
Bosnia. Military Police maintained order in war-torn
Kosovo, as well as keeping the peace in
Afghanistan. During
the 2003 invasion of Iraq, 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. 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. • In the 1989
United States invasion of Panama, CPT
Linda Bray led the 988th Military Police Company in an assault against Panamanian Defense Forces, and is considered the first woman to lead U.S. troops in combat. CPT Bray was awarded the
Commendation Medal for
Valor. •
Tulsi Gabbard became the first female to graduate Alabama Military Academy as the OCS distinguished honor graduate in March 2007, and one of the first women combat veterans to serve in United States Congress. • In 2010, Brigadier General
Colleen L. McGuire became the first woman to hold the office of
Provost Marshal General of the Army. • 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. • 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 since WWII for combat valor through her actions on 20 March 2005, in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. In 2008, 25% of the MP Corps were women. The mixed-gender MP Corps is valued in the wars in
Iraq and
Afghanistan, where cultural taboos may prevent male soldiers from interacting with women. == Modern U.S. Army Military Police ==