# CMH 60-9: Military Police

U.S. Army Center for Military History publication
MILITARY POLICE
Military Police Corps
ARMY LINEAGE SERIES
MILITARY POLICE
compiled by Robert K. Wright, Jr.
CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY UNITED STATES ARMY WASHINGTON, D.C., 1992
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wright, Robert K., 1946– Military police / compiled by Robert K. Wright, Jr. p. cm.—(Army lineage series)
Includes bibliographical references. 1. United States. Army—Military Police—History. I. Title. II. Series. UB825.U54W75 1991
CMH Pub 60–9
First Printing
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402
ARMY LINEAGE SERIES
Jeffrey J, Clarke, General Editor
Advisory Committee (As of 28 March 1991)
Edward M. Coffmann U.S. Army Command and General Staff College
Martin Blumenson Washington, D.C.
Col. Donald E. Lunday U.S. Army War College
Brig. Gen. Gerald E. Galloway, Jr. U.S. Military Academy
Herman M. Hattaway U.S. Military Academy
James M. McPherson Princeton University
Ernest R. May Harvard University
David B. Miller, Esq. Scranton, Pa.
Brig. Gen. John E. Miller U.S. Army Command and General Staff College
Maj. Gen. James W. van Loben Sels U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command
William A. Walker Archivist of the Army
Russell F. Weigley Temple University
Gerhard L. Weinberg University of North Carolina
U.S. Army Center of Military History
Brig. Gen. Harold W. Nelson, Chief of Military History
| Chief Historian | Jeffrey J. Clarke |
| Chief, Historical Services Division | Clayton R. Newell |
| Editor in Chief | John W. Elsberg |
Foreword
By regulation, the Center of Military History is responsible for determining the lineages and battle honors of the Army's units. Lineages and honors serve as a compact outline history. 'When provided to an individual unit in the form of a certificate over the signature of the Chief of Military History, they officially recognize that unit's organizational history and those campaign streamers and honors and heraldic items which it is entitled to bear. This volume gathers together the compact histories of all major military police units in the U.S. Army in order to perpetuate and publicize for the military police, soldiers throughout the Army, and the general public those traditions, honors, and devices proudly carried by the Military Police Corps.
Army leaders have long recognized that an awareness of a unit's history and traditions contributes directly to its esprit de corps. Today's Army, composed of professional soldiers, understands that a sense of unit pride is critical in the blending of its many specialized branches into the combined arms team needed to cope with the demands of the battlefield of the future.
Although the Military Police Corps will only celebrate its first half century in 1991, its soldiers can trace their heritage to t11e foundation of the Republic. Since the organization of the first unit in the Continental Army in 1778, military police have witnessed a steady increase in responsibilities, particularly during the wars of this century. I recommend that a ll members of the corps take time to increase their knowledge of tl1e long and proud history of military police. We offer this volume as an introduction to that worthy enterprise.
Preface
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 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.
The Organizational History Branch is responsible for the determination of the official unit lineages and honors, and the lineages that appear in this volume are the result of research done by many members of the branch, past and present. The undersigned compiled the lineages, and John E. Parker drafted the introduction. Dana Purdy assembled the bibliographies with the assistance of Charles E. Dornbusch's comprehensive bibliography entitled Histories, Personal Narratives, United States Army (Cornwallville, New York: Hope Farm Press, 1967), James Contravich's United States Army Unit Histories, A Reference and Bibliography (Manhattan, Kansas: Military Affairs/Aerospace Historian, 1983). and the U.S. Army Military History Institute's work in this area, compiled by George S. Pappas and entitled United States Army Unit Histories, (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1978). Most of the unit histories cited arc unofficial works that were prepared outside the Department of the Army. Joycelyn M. Canery edited the manuscript.
Descriptions of the shoulder sleeve insignia, distinctive insignia, and other heraldic items approved for the units are included with the lineages. These descriptions, as well as the color illustrations of the heraldic items, were furnished by The Institute of Heraldry, U.S. Army, and the Organizational History Branch is especially grateful to Opal Landrum. Nuala Barry, and Adele Richey for their valuable assistance. In some instances the text ​relating to the heraldic items approved for the units is not as comprehensive as in the original letters of approval, amendment, or redesignation sent to the units. Minor changes in the heraldic material have been made to meet the need for brevity in this volume. At the beginning of the color illustrations is a brief account of the evolution of these items.
Since the Center of Military History is responsible for the determination and publication of unit lineages and honors under Army Regulation 870–5, comments are invited and should be addressed to the Center at Washington, D.C. 20374–5088.
Contents
MILITARY POLICE
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States federal government (see 17 U.S.C. 105).
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse