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Military Police

© Dennis Morehouse

As the war drew to and end and the South was occupied, the duties of the provost marshals expanded from strictly military discipline to include law enforcement in the occupied territories and the administration of government functions, thereby becoming the first American forces engaged in military government. This ended in 1865, when responsibility was transferred from the Provost Marshal to the Freedman's Bureau. By 1866, the office of Provost Marshal General had been abolished and all provost units had been disbanded.

In 1901, Brigadier General Arthur McArthur was appointed Military Governor and Provost Marshal General of Manila. A Provost Guard Brigade was formed to patrol Manila, and the Phillipine Constabulary was formed to campaign against the Moro and Sulu tribes. These units were referred to as military police, even though they were mostly regular Infantry and cavalry units.

During World War I, the need for a specially trained and professional corps of military police was finally recognized. The First Infantry Division formed two companies of 'military police'. Other divisions also began forming MP companies. The Provost Marshal General of the American Expeditionary Force formed the first school to train military police in late 1918 in France, with the assistance of the British. This school began turning out the first trained, professional military policemen in the U.S. Army.

Military police units distinguished themselves in combat on a number of occasions, in addition to their normal duties; but on Armistice Day, the Corps was once again disbanded, although individual MP units continued to operate until the Army ended its occupation of Germany.

In September 1941, the Secretary of the Army finally formed the Military Police as a permanent Corps of the Army. All functions of a professional police force were in place by the end of the war, plus those functions unique to police in the military. The MPs were responsible for prisoners of war, industrial security, security of supply lines in the combat theaters, straggler and deserter control, criminal investigation, control of refugees, and enforcement of regulations. The Military Police were by now highly professional, extremely competent, and an integral part of the Army.

Modern operations are complex enough, and the Army is large enough, that a police organization will undoubtedly remain.

For more information on U.S. Army military police, see: http://www.azstarnet.com/~rovedo/mphist.... or http://www.mcclellan.army.mil/usamps/def...