Military Police

The Military Police Corps achieved permanent status in the U.S. Army on 26 September 1941, yet traditions of duty, service, and security date back to the Revolutionary War. Over the last two centuries the military police-or provost marshals as they were called during much of their history evolved from a group of miscellaneous units and men organized on a temporary basis in time of national emergency to perform a limited range of law and order responsibilities into today's highly organized and trained combat support force. This volume gathers in compact form the official historical records of 109 military police units commands, camps, centers, brigades, groups, and battalions the echelons authorized distinctive heraldic items. Included are all the Regular Army and Army Reserve units active between 1962 and 1987, as well as all Army National Guard organizations active as of 30 September 1987. The lineage and honors of a unit provide an outline of history of that unit and the official certificate attesting to that history, prepared in the Organizational History Branch of the U.S. Army Center of Military History. The unit lineages in this book are adapted from these official certificates is a highly stylized document. The lineage begins with the official designation of the unit, followed by an approved special designation. The events in the life of a unit recorded in the official certificate are restricted to a few specific actions, such as activation, inactivation, and redesignation. The data has been compressed to save space, which accounts for the technical language used. A glossary appears at the end of the volume to assist the reader in understanding these technical terms. Campaigns and decorations for all the units are listed following each lineage. General orders announcing decorations are shown parenthetically.