Military Police Corps
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The Military Police Corps is the law enforcement branch of the United States Armed Forces.
MPs are service members of the U.S. Army and United States Marine Corps. The U.S Navy and U.S. Coast Guard use the term Shore Patrol and Master at arms, while the U.S. Air Force uses the term Security Police, or SPs to describe the Air Force Security Forces.
The Department of Defense use DOD Civilian Police. Each service also maintains uniformed civilian police officers. They are referred to as either DOD Force Protection (formerly known as Pentagon Police), DOD (Department of Defense) Police, DOD (Department of Defense) Guard, DA (Department of the Army) Police or DA Guard. The police officers' peacetime duties are the same as those of civilian police, namely to enforce the laws of the U.S. Military in the form of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), and the regulations of their particular installation. The civilian guards' duties are normally restricted to protection of priority resources.
United States Army
During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, MPs have been used extensively to maintain control over the large populations of detainees being held by coalition forces, as well as helping to conduct raids and regular patrols.Some U.S. MP units, usually at the battalion or brigade level, are designated as combat, division or line MPs whose combat zone responsibilities include protection of vehicle routes, defile control, route reconnaissance and straggler control, the guidance or detention of soldiers who have become lost, separated from their units, or have fled the battlefield.
Although not considered a combat arm (i.e. a corps whose primary mission is the engagement of the enemy), U.S. military police are combat support and as such are trained to use infantry weapons, including grenade launchers (MK 19 and M203) and machine guns (SAW and M-60), since their proximity to the frontline may require their use in an emergency. They are also highly trained in MOUT (Military Operations in Urban Terrain.) tactics. During the Tet Offensive of the Vietnam War, the 716th Military Police Battalion fought as infantry in defense of Saigon, reputedly the first time U.S. military police had done so. Military Police are trained to call indirect artillery fire and can be used for recon duty, especially if assigned to a divisional MP company.
The United States Constitution requires a separate system of law and order which applies exclusively to the United States' armed service branches; as such Military Police have less liberty when conducting investigations than their civil counterparts due to command influence. (see UCMJ)
Equipment
Weapons
The standard weapons of the United States military police are the M9 9 mm magazine-fed semi-automatic pistol, the M4 rifle, and the 12 gauge shotgun.
Crew-served or vehicle based weapons include the M2 Browning .50 CAL Machine gun, the MK19 40 mm Grenade Machine gun, and M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) 5.56 mm Machine gun.
Uniforms
In the U.S. Army, military police are usually distinguished by a brassard worn on the left arm when on duty. With the advent of the new ACU's the brassard is being phased out and is being replaced with a simple patch to be worn on the left arm that simply reads MP. When wearing a Class A (suit) uniform they are authorized wear of combat boots instead of regulation low-cut shoes. In common with Airborne soldiers they may wear these boots off-duty as well.
During the Second World War, 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."
Military Police units
- 16th Military Police Brigade
- 372nd Military Police
- 716th Military Police Battalion (Purportedly the first MP unit to fight as regular infantry)
- Air Force Security Forces
- Master-at-arms
- Shore patrol
- United States Constabulary (defunct)
External link
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