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1776
In general orders, General Washington appoints Mr. William Marony as
Provost of the Army of the United Colonies, with a small provost guard
to conduct executions. (10 January)
1776
Mr. Thomas Bryan replaces William Marony as Provost Marshal of the
Army. Desertion is a continuing problem in the army and of the 225 men
sentenced to death at least 40 executions were carried out by Provost
Marshal Marony and his troops. (December)
1777
Congress authorizes the organization of the Corps of Invalids, based on the
British model, for men who are not fit for field duties. The regiment is
commanded by Colonel Lewis Nicola and is detailed to protect military
garrisons, especially West Point. (20 June)
1777
General Putnam, Commander of the Army on the Hudson River, appoints
Mr. John Weis as Provost Marshal. (10 October)
1778
General Washington requests, in a letter to Congress, for a provost
marshal (martial). (24 May)
1778
A resolution of Congress approves the post of "Provost" and a new
organization for the Continental Army, which included an Independent
Troop of Light Dragoons. (27 May)
1778
The Provost Corps is established at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The
unit is formed as the Marechaussee Corps (also spelled Marechause in
some records), the mounted constabulary of the Continental Army, and
given the mission to "apprehend and arrest all marauders, rioters,
drunkards and deserters, and all soldiers who would be found beyond
the limits of their organizations without permission." The term
marechaussee derives from the term "privots de marechaux" of King
Francis I, of France. They were a military force of mounted archers
used to protect the highways. Captain Bartholomew Von Heer (carried on
some official records as Van Hear) is appointed as the Commander. He
remains the commander until the Corps is dissolved in 1783.
(01 June)
1778
Three of the four officer positions authorized in the new Provost
Corps are filled by Lieutenants Philip Strubing, Christian Manaeke and
Jacob Maitinger. Von Heer recruits the corps from the German
communities of Berks and Lancaster counties in Pennsylvania.
(July/August)
1778
Washington issues his memorandum of instructions, outlining the
duties of the Corps, to Von Heer. (11 October)
1778
Until this date prisoner-of-war duties were performed by militia
units. Upon the surrender of Burgoyne, the "Saratoga Convention"
ordered the removal of British troops from North America, unless they
were exchanged. The British failed to honor some of the stipulations
of the agreement. Congress decided that these British units might
return, and so ordered their detainment. A second larger military
police force is, therefore, authorized by Congress and organized by
the Commonwealth of Virginia, on this date, to administer the
prisoner-of-war compound at Charlottesville. They secure prisoners
captured at Saratoga and previously held in Cambridge. The 600 man
regiment is commanded by former Continental officers.
(23 December)
1779
The Corps is used as an intelligence gathering unit in the area of
Amboy, New Jersey.
1779
Congress adopts the Regiment of Guards, modifying the original
Virginia unit. The regiment is organized at Albemarle Barracks,
Charlottesville, Virginia, and consisted of nine companies from
Amherst, Buckingham, Louisa, Orange, Culpeper and Goochland counties.
The regiment remains under the control of the governor of Virginia,
rather than being assigned to the Southern Department of the
Continental Army. (09 January)
1779
The Regiment of Guards is reorganized into seven companies.
(10 December)
1779 - 1780
The Corps winters in Reading, Pennsylvania.
1780
The first recorded mutiny in the Continental Army occurs at West
Point, New York, but is suppressed. (01 Januiary)
1780
The Corps reports to Colonel Moylan at Hackensack, New Jersey.
1780
The Corps earns a Battle Streamer for the Battle of Springfield, where
they were assigned to the left flank of the Continental Army.
1781
The Regiment of Guards disbands, in stages, from 10 April through 09
June 1781, at Winchester and Watkin's Ferry, Virginia, when the
"Convention Army" moves to Maryland.
1781
Numbers for the enlistment and maintenance of the Corps are assigned
to the Pennsylvania quota. (09 July)
1781
The Corps earns a second Battle Streamer for the Battle of Yorktown,
28 September through 19 October. During the Battle of Yorktown the
Corps provides security at Dobb's Ferry, Virginia. (19 October)
1782
The Corps has 30 provosts for the approximate 14,250 men in the
continental Army. (25 April)
1782
The Corps is temporarily attached to General Washington's Life Guards,
and provide security at army headquarters. (September)
1782
The Corps, the Commander-in-Chief's Guards and an additional Corps of
Infantry are inspected by General Washington in preparation of the
visit of French General Rochambeau, at Verplanck's Point.
(05 September)
1782
The last "battle" of the Revolutionary War occurs when 250 Indians and
40 loyalists attack Fort Henry, VA (Wheeling, WV). (11 September)
1783
Britain declares a cessation of hostilities. (04 February)
1783
The Corps is furloughed at camp near New Windsor and marched to
Pennsylvania. The Provost Company of Light Dragoons, with one
Sergeant, one Corporal and eight provosts, remain with General
Washington as dispatch riders and orderlies, until October 1783.
(13 June)
1783
The Treaty of Paris is signed, which officially ends the war.
(03 September)
1783
The Corps is disbanded at Rocky Hill, near Princeton, New Jersey.
Major Von Heer is discharged by General Washington. (04 November)
1783
General Washington completes the demobilization of the Army.
(03 December)
1783
Washington resigns his commission and is escorted to Mount Vernon by
members of the Marechaussee Corps. (23 December)
1783
The last remaining 12 members of the Corps are discharged, thereby
being the last soldiers discharged from the Revolutionary War.
(31 December)
1784
The entire American military force consists of one regiment of
infantry, numbering 527 men and one artillery battery numbering 183
men. (January)
1784
Congress disbands the United States Army with the statement that in
time of peace it is "inconsistent with the principles of republican
government". All that are kept consists of 80 artillerymen guarding
the stores at West Point, New York and Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania. The
short time that follows is the only time when the US Army has no
infantry. (02 June)
1789
The War Department is established and General Knox is appointed under
the Constitution as Secretary of War. He actually assumes office on
12 September and serves until 1794. (07 August)
1789
The United States Army is formed. This regular Army consists of 846
men. General Josiah Harman is the commander of infantry and a major
is appointed as chief of the artillery. They are named the First
Regiment, United States Army. (29 September)
1792
The US Army is reformed as four "Legions of the United States"
consisting of 4,000 men, under the command of General "Mad" Anthony
Wayne. (June)
1798
A provisional Army is established, with 4,000 troops. Lieutenant
General Washington is recalled from retirement and placed in
charge.
1800
The United States Army disbands again. (June)
1820
Article 58 of the Army General Regulations, entitled, "General
Police", is published outlining the duties of personnel assigned to
military police duties.
1861
Colonel Andrew Porter, 16th US Infantry, is detailed as temporary
Provost Marshal of Washington, with all regular troops in the area
delegated as provost guards. For his new position he uses 1,000
infantry troops to supplement his artillery and cavalry troops.
(30 July)
1861
Colonel Porter is promoted to Brigadier General and appointed Provost
Marshal General of the Army of the Potomac. The 2nd US Cavalry and one
battalion of the 8th, and 17th, US Infantry, as well as several units
of regular artillery become the Provost Guard. (August)
1861
General McClellan orders the establishment of Provost Marshals and
provost guards at each division, corps, and army headquarters.
1862
General McClellan issues Special Order 27 ordering the mutinous 79th
Regiment of New York Volunteers (New York Highlanders) to return to
duty. General Porter uses a battery of artillery, two companies of
cavalry and several infantry companies to suppress the mutiny.
1862
General Order 140, of the War Department, formally establishes the
Provost Marshal. (September)
1862
General Porter is relieved, due to sickness, as Provost Marshal
General of the Army of the Potomac. Constantly on sick leave, he
eventually resigns from the volunteers on April 4, 1864 and the
regular army on April 20, 1864. General Porter's replacement is
Brigadier General Marsena Randolph Patrick. He also takes charge
of the Bureau of Military Information (military intelligence).
(06 October)
1862
The Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia. For this battle the General
Headquarters of Burnside's Army of the Potomac is partially composed
of the Provost Guard, commanded by Brigadier General Marsena R.
Patrick. (13 December)
1863
Congress establishes the Office of the Provost Marshal General of the
United States. General Order 67 appoints Colonel James B. Fry, Colonel
of Cavalry, to this position and one provost marshal is appointed to
each congressional district with the rank of captain. The duties were
for the administration and enforcement of military recruitment and
conscription. (03 March)
1863
General Order 69 authorizes the organization of medically wounded
patients unfit for field duty into guard detachments. (20 March)
1863
General Order 105 establishes the Invalid Corps. Based upon the
original Regiment of Guards of the Revolutionary War, the Corps is
composed of men who were either convalescing while still in the army
or those who had been honorably discharged from wounds. They were
required to pass a medical examination and were tested for
intelligence, industry, sobriety and attention to duty. (28 April)
1863
General Order 124 authorizes enlisted men of the Invalid Corps to wear
a distinctive sky blue uniform with dark blue trim. Non-commissioned
officers wore a dark blue stripe on their trousers. (15 May)
1863
General Order 158 authorizes officers of the Invalid Corps to wear the
same sky blue uniform as the enlisted soldiers, but with two dark blue
stripes on the trousers. Infantry insignia was also worn.
(11 June)
1863
During the three day Battle of Gettysburg, two provost lines are used
to control stragglers and deserters, containing them within the
Gettysburg area. (01 July)
1863
At Gettysburg, the Provost Guard of the I Division of the VI Corps,
consists of three companies of the 4th New Jersey Infantry, commanded
by Captain William E. Maxwell. The Artillery Reserve is guarded by
seven companies of 4th New Jersey Infantry commanded by Major Charles
Ewing.
1863
On this Monday morning the "Enrollment Act" (draft) takes effect.
Anti-draft riots will soon occur in Newark, Jersey City, New Jersey,
Toledo, Ohio, Evansville, Illinois, Boston, Massachusetts, and Troy,
New York. In New York City, earlier in the month the Provost Marshal
for New York, Captain Joel B. Erhardt, orders some able-bodied men
that are erecting a building to report for the draft. They attack him
with crow bars and force him to flee. Registration and drafting had
begun peaceably earlier in the month at the Provost Marshal's Office,
but on this date thousands of workers do not report for work. Mobs
armed with clubs, knives and other weapons converge on draft
headquarters. As they converge, they are joined by thousands of men
and women who leave work. Telegraph poles are knocked down to disrupt
communications. The police are swept aside and the draft headquarters
building is set on fire. (13 July)
1863
Colonel Fry brings over 100,000 regular troops to New York City,
including the entire 8th Indiana Infantry Regiment from Gettysburg to
quell the riot. One mob assaults a platoon of soldiers and force them
to take cover in a foundry. Reinforcements rescue them by routing the
mob with fixed bayonets. The mobs begin smashing and looting stores.
They are pursued by soldiers who fall victim to musket fire from the
rooftops. Howitzers are rushed up and fired into the mob. Eleven of
the ringleaders are killed. Troops battle in hand-to-hand combat in
stairwells and on roof tops. (16 July)
1863
US Army troops plant cannon in the most violent areas of New York
City and by this fifth day an uneasy peace finally comes to the city.
Thus ends the deadliest civil disturbance in US history, which left
between 1,500 and 2,000 civilians dead. There are 50 soldiers and
three police officers killed. Many dead civilians are not counted in
the death count and many more are missing. Eight thousand are wounded
or maimed for life. Three hundred soldiers are injured, and over 3,000
blacks were left homeless. One out of every five black New Yorkers
moves away after the riot. Following the riot not one black worker
showed up for work on docks of New York. Of the hundreds arrested,
only 19 are convicted for their roles in the riot. (17 July)
1863
The Adjutant General authorizes the combining of Invalid Corps
companies into regiments, with Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels
authorized on September 26, 1863. (05 September)
1863
The Invalid Corps stands at 10,540 men in the First Battalions and
7,225 men in the Second Battalions. (01 November)
1864
General Order 111 changes the name of the Invalid Corps to the
Veterans Reserve Corps (VRC). It was suggested that the name change be
brought about due to the initials of the Invalid Corps being the same
to indicate bad equipment and food. "IC" indicated "Inspected -
Condemned," and members were often called "condemned yanks".
(18 March)
1864
Colonel Fry is promoted to Brigadier General. (21 April)
1864
The 18th Regiment, VRC, takes part in the defense of White Horse,
Virginia, against Hampton's raid. (20 June)
1865
At approximately 10:30 PM President Lincoln is shot by John Wilkes
Booth at Ford's Theater, in Washington, DC. At 7:22 AM the next day,
President Lincoln dies from the single bullet wound to the head.
(14 April)
1865
President Lincoln's funeral train makes stops at major US cities
enroute to Springfield, Illinois. His body is under constant escort by
members of the Veteran's Reserve Corps. (April)
1866
General Order 140 is cancelled and the Veterans Reserve Corps is
disbanded. From the founding of the Invalid Corps to the disbandment
of the Veteran Reserve Corps 1,036 officers and 60,508 enlisted men
will have served in the Corps. The Office of the Provost Marshal
General is also disbanded.
1870
The brassart (brassard) comes into use as a symbol of military
authority.
1886
US Army troops are detailed to Yellowstone National Park to conduct
protection and police operatins.
1894
Major General (Ret) James B. Fry, Provost Marshal General during the
Civil War, dies at his home in Newport, RI, at the age of 67. He is
later buried at Saint Stephen the Lesser Church in Philadelphia.
(11 July)
1905
General Allen establishes an officer's school for the training of the
Constabulary.
1907
Colonel Bandholtz is appointed as Chief of the Constabulary, and
promoted to Brigadier General, upon General Allen's retirement.
Reports from Manila refer to the men performing constabulary duty as
military police. (30 June)
1907
Alcatraz Island officially becomes a US Military Prison. (June)
1913
General Bandholtz leaves his post as Chief of the Constabulary.
(01 September)
1916
The Philippine Constabulary is turned over to the Filipinos.
1917
President Wilson asks for a Declaration of War against Germany.
(02 April)
1917
The War Department approves a divisional Table of Organization (TO),
which included a headquarters and train with two military police
companies, composed of a total of 306 personnel. Sixty-one divisions
will eventually organize military police units. (May)
1917
General Order (GO) No. 8, American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), makes
the Provost Marshal General (PMG) a member of the Administrative and
Technical Staff of the Commanding General. (07 July)
1917
General Pershing appoints Lieutenant Colonel Hansen E. Ely as Provost
Marshal General (PMG) of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF). He
is assigned 11 enlisted men to begin the PMG functions and establish
the military police service. (20 July)
1917
Major General Enoch H. Crowder is appointed to the two positions of
Provost Marshal General and Judge Advocate General of the United
States Army. His primary responsibility is the establishment of the
first effective Selective Service System. (July)
1917
The Provost Marshal General (PMG), AEF, moves to Chaumont Haute-Marne.
The APM, commanding the military police in Paris, is located at 10
Rue Ste-Anne. (01 September)
1917
Colonel Kirby Walker, APM, AEF, is appointed Commander, District of
Paris, until December 3, 1917. (03 November)
1917
The APM, AEF, is placed in charge of all military police. (17
November)
1917
General Order No. 63, AEF, specifies the pass and control system and
the enforcement techniques for straggler control. (20 November)
1917
A general support military police regiment, the First Army
Headquarters Regiment, is converted from a French-speaking New
Hampshire National Guard infantry unit. The unit is supplemented with
soldiers with detective experience.
1917
The Massachusetts National Guard forms an all black military police
unit, the 101st Headquarters Company and Military Police Company, a
part of the 26th Division.
1917
The District of Columbia forms an all black unit, the First Separate
Battalion, with the duty of securing the nation's capital.
1918
Genmeral Order No. 31, AEF, reassigns the Provost Marshal Service to
the G-1, Services of Supply (SOS), AEF. (16 February)
1918
The PMG, AEF, moves from Chaumont Haute-Marne to Tours, France.
(06 March)
1918
A division of the PMG for Criminal Investigations (CID) is established
to operate similar to a civilian detective squad. (11 May)
1918
The PMG assumes the responsibility for Prisoners of War. Escort Guard
Companies, of three officers and 100 men, are established for this
purpose. The central prisoner of war enclosure is also established at
Saint Pierre de Corps. By the end of the war they would handle 48,000
prisoners. One Cavalry Regiment is also assigned to HQ, AEF, for
security. (30 May)
1918
An evaluation of the military police service by the AEF indicates that
detailing officers and men to the military police is not the most
effective method. However, there is no Table of Organization (TO),
except for division military police, and there is a requirement for
large numbers of military police in the Line of Communications (later
Services of Supply). A Board of Officers is appointed to evaluate the
matter and consider what is to be done. (May)
1918
General Allaire is replaced by Lieutenant Colonel John C. Groome,
former Superintendent of the Pennsylvania Constabulary, who becomes
the acting PMG, AEF. (29 June)
1918
General Order No. 111, AEF, first organizes the Military Police Corps
for the AEF, authorizing military police at the corps and army level.
(08 July)
1918
The Regiment of Traffic Police and Headquarters Guards are absorbed by
the new organization. Tactical military police, assigned to the SOS,
are retained under the control of their commanders.
1918
Prior to the Aisne-Marne Offensive, Second Division Military Police
clear traffic congestion and for several days keep traffic moving in
the chaos prior to the battle. During these same operations the Third
Division Military Police hold the line, when ground troops flee from
artillery and gas attacks, despite having 12 killed and 13 wounded.
(July)
1918
The First US Army now has only the Army Traffic Police assigned to it.
(30 August)
1918
In the Argonne-Meuse area the First Division Military Police
distinguish themselves by moving units forward under artillery fire,
during the last German offensive. (August)
1918
General Order No. 150, AEF, establishes a Military Police Corps
Training Depot at Autun, France. Lieutenant Thomas Cadwalader, US
Cavalry, is assigned as the commandant. (05 September)
1918
The War Department authorizes the establishment of the Military Police
Corps and assigns it to the SOS. (16 September)
1918
Brigadier General Harry H. Bandholtz is appointed Provost Marshal
General, AEF, replacing Colonel Groome. (27 September)
1918
The first 21 enlisted men begin the first military police class at
Caserne Changarnier, Autun, France. This first class graduates on
January 9, 1919. By the time the school closes 465 officers and 3,557
enlisted men graduate from this school. (10 October)
1918
General Order No. 180, AEF, reorganizes the PMG's office and the
Military Police Corps of the AEF, and authorizes them for the
duration of the emergency. The order authorizes the PMG staff to
consist of 47 officers, 10 clerks and 31 enlisted men. The standard
Table of Organization (TO) raises the authorization to five officers
and 200 men in each company. The five page order contained the
physical and mental qualifications for military police personnel and
methods of assignment. The 3,100 members of the Headquarters Guard are
absorbed into the Corps. Total authorized strength is now raised to no
more than 1% of the total AEF. (15 October)
1918
The office of the Provost Marshal General, AEF, is moved from Tours to
Chaumont-en-Bassigny, France. (25 October)
1918
The organization of the military police numbers 463 officers and
15,912 men, making it one of the largest police organizations in the
world. It is spread over the entire country of France.
(01 November)
1918
General Order No. 200, AEF, reorganizes the PMG and military police of
the AEF and establishes the responsibilities and duties of the PMG as
the commander of the new corps. Military police units are reorganized
into one company for each division, one company for each corps, and
four companies organized as one battalion for each army.
(09 November)
1918
Military police of the 7th Infantry Division assist in the Battle of
"Penny Ridge", earning a silver campaign band. (10 November)
1918
At 11:00 AM. World War I ends, with the signing of the Armistice at
Compiegne, France. GO No. 180, AEF, is rescinded and the Military
Police Corps and Provost Marshal General, AEF, are disbanded. As late
as 1927, however, there was still an acting Provost Marshal General
assigned to the War Department as a staff advisor on police matters.
At the end of the war, and into early 1919, there were 146 military
police companies (eight CID, 50 tactical or divisional and 88 general
support in cities and towns), as well as 122 military police escort
guard companies. Military police units are located in 476 cities and
towns in France, England, Italy, Belgium, Luxemberg and Germany.
(11 November)
1918
A military police battalion is assigned to the General Headquarters,
AEF. (24 November)
1918
General Order No. 217, AEF, fully reorganizes the military police of
the AEF once more. The office of the PMG, AEF, is reassigned from the
Services of Supply to the staff of the Commanding General, AEF. The
military police are attached to the General Headquarters, AEF.
(27 November)
1918
The strength of the AEF is 80,004 officers and 1,849,756 enlisted. The
military police strength is 395 officers and 12,508 enlisted.
(30 November)
1919
General Order No. 5, AEF, reorganizes the eight CID units into the
301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307 and 308 MP Companies, with five
officers and 100 enlisted men in each company. They are authorized to
wear civilian clothes and carry special passes to allow them access to
any area. (05 February()
1919
General Bandholtz, in a memorandum to General Pershing, requests the
establishment of a permanent Military Police Corps. (31 March)
1919
The office of the Provost Marshal General is transferred to
Chateau-du-Loir (Sarthe). (01 June)
1919
The Third Army, on occupation duty in Germany, dissolves and military
forces now become the American Forces in Germany (AF in G). One MP
Company is assigned to each kreis (county). (03 July)
1919
In Germany, occupation forces organize a Disciplinary Barracks at Fort
Alexander. (November)
1920
The National Defense Act establishes provisions for a Military Police
Branch in the Officers' Reserve Corps.
1921
Reserve Officers are commissioned in the Military Police.
1922
In Germany, the Military Prison unit is discontinued. MP units are
still left at Bad Ems, Weisbaden, Bonn and Koln. (22 April)
1922
The Provisional MP Company is demobilized in Germany. (May)
1922
The crossed Model 1806 Harpers Ferry, .54 caliber, Flintlock Pistols
are established as the symbol for the US Army Military Police. The
design is personally approved by General Pershing.
1923
The occupation of Germany by US forces ends with the lowering of the
US flag from Fortress Ehrenbrietstein, Coblenz. The zone is turned
over to the French. (20 January)
1924
A directive is issued outlining the function and organization of the
military police in the event of mobilization. (July)
1934
The USDB at Alcatraz Island is turned over to the US Bureau of
Prisons. (21 June)
1937
The War Department publishes Basic Field Manual IX, Military Police,
providing for the organization of a Provost Marshal General
Department.
1939
Pre-war plans are made for the formation of Zone of the Interior (ZI)
military police units in the event of war. The plans call for 56 MP
battalions to be formed for service within the United States.
1939
Military Police Platoon, Headquarters Troop, 1st Cavalry Division
constituted in the Regular Army. (15 February)
1941
The first Zone of the Interior (ZI) MP Battalion is formed, seven
months prior to the establishment of the Corps of Military Police,
with the activation of the 701st MP Battalion at Fort Snelling,
Minnesota. The unit is activated with 20 officers and 93 enlisted men,
from the 1st Infantry Regiment. The battalion provided security for
vital installations in the United States prior to the war. It
participates in riot control duties in Detroit in 1943, prior to going
overseas. (01 February)
1941
The 702nd MP Battalion (ZI) is formed and assigned interior security
duties at Sault Ste. Marie Canal. (May)
1941
The Office of the Provost Marshal General is reactivated. Major
General Allen W. Gullion, The Adjutant General, is appointed as acting
Provost Marshal General of the Army. Gullion was one of the
prosecutors in the court martial of General Billy Mitchell.
(31 July)
1941
The Secretary of War establishes the Corps of Military Police as a
separate branch of the Army. The initial authorization calls for three battalions and
four separate companies, of approximately 2,000 men. Five basic Tables
of Organization (TO&E) are developed from the infantry.
(26 September)
1941
By this date only three of the ZI MP battalions have been established.
The Inspector General recommends that specially selected black
soldiers be organized into colored military police units.
(September)
1941
War Department Circular 224 establishes Military Police Detachments
(Colored). The Provost Marshal intergrates the MP Corps by
establishing black, white and mixed units. (22 October)
1941
The first Officer Advanced Tactical Class begins at the Provost
Marshal General's School, Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. Lieutenant Colonel
Melvin Purvis is one the first staff officers. Purvis is famous for
his involvement, as an FBI Agent, in the capture of Machine Gun Kelly
and John Dillinger. (October)
1941
The Provost Marshal General's School offers instruction in Military
Government, which is finally authorized by General Marshall on 06
January, 1942. (19 November)
1941
Japan attacks the United States. Congress publishes the duties of the
new Corps of Military Police. (07 December)
1941
The Military Police Service School is established at the Arlington
Cantonment, South Post, Fort Myer, Virginia, and is similar to the
school earlier established in France during World War I.
(19 December)
1941
A quota is set for the number of ZI MP battalions again.
(December)
1942
The Military Police Board is established. Nine new TO&E's are also
established. (January)
1942
The MP Service School is renamed the Provost Marshal General's School
and the first military police class begins training. There are four
basic departments; Military Law, Traffic Control, Methods and
Criminal Investigation. (15 January)
1942
PFC Milburn H. Henke, 34th Infantry Division, steps ashore in Belfast,
Northern Ireland. He is the first combat soldier, of the 2,876,439
American forces who will deployed from England against the continent
of Europe, to arrive in Great Britain. (26 January)
1942
The first all-black MP battalion, the 730th MP Battalion, is
activated. (12 February)
1942
President Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066, ordering the wartime
detention of Japanese and Japanese-Americans. By March 1942, military
police in the Sixth US Army area have begun to post notices on
telephone and telegraph poles giving instructions for the "evacuation"
of the soon to be internees. Within weeks of signing the order,
112,000 internees are moved to internment camps, where they remain
until December 1944. (19 February)
1942
By this date 17 Military Police Battalions have been established.
(February)
1942
The first Military Police Replacement Training Center is established
at Fort Riley, Kansas. (May)
1942
General Eisenhower arrives in London and establishes American Army
Headquarters, in a large apartment building near Grosvenor Square.
Nearby, in Piccadilly, the Military Police establish their
headquarters. (June)
1942
Auxiliary Military Police are formed from civilian security guards to
help secure industries in the United States. By 1943 there were
200,000 auxiliary MP serving in these positions. (Summer)
1942
Military Police Platoon, Headquarters Troop, 1st Cavalry Division
redesignated as Military Police Platoon, 1st Cavalry Division and
activated at Fort Hood, Texas. (04 July)
1942
The first Military Officer Candidate School begins at Fort Oglethorpe,
Georgia. (06 July)
1942
The MP Corps activates 10 black MP battalions and three black MP
companies (ZI). (August)
1942
The 204th MP Company makes a beach assault landing at Fedala, French
Morocco, as part of "Operation Torch". The Company Commander,
Captain Sutton, and several other military police are killed in the
landing. Second Lieutenant Walter J. Burns is awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross for his actions during the assault.
(07 November)
1942
The Provost Marshal General's School moves to Fort Custer, Michigan.
(November)
1942
The ZI MP battalion strength is set at a maximum of 89 MP
battalions.
1943
The infamous "Zoot Suit Riots" in Los Angeles. They begin when rumors
spread that Mexican-American zoot suiters are assaulting female
relatives of servicemen. Almost simultaneously rumors spread through
the "barrios" that servicemen are insulting and assaulting
Mexican-American women. Several thousand servicemen roam the downtown
city streets, dragging victims from streetcars and movie theaters,
beating and shredding their clothes. The riot ends when military
authorities place downtown Los Angeles "off limits" and clear
servicemen from the streets with military police and shore patrol.
(June)
1943
In New York City, an off-duty black MP, Robert Bandy, engages in a
scuffle with a white police officer, James Collins, who is attempting
to arrest a black woman for disorderly conduct. Collins shoots Bandy
in the shoulder. The riot resulting from the shooting brings 5,000
police, Emergency Service contingents, City Patrol Corps and Air
Warden Servce into Harlem. One thousand black civilians, 300 of them
women, are deputized. It ends with six people dead, 543 injured and
484 arrested, including 100 women for looting. (Summer)
1943
First Division military police make a beach landing at Barafranca,
Italy. They paint "MP", in gold, on their helmets, becoming the first
known unit to establish helmet markings. (July)
1943
Second Lieutenant George Bird, and one photographer, form the first
Military Police Laboratory at Algiers, North Africa. It moves to a
mobile truck in Paris, and when the war is over the truck is located
at Fulda, Germany. It eventually became the US Army Criminal
Investigation (CI) Laboratory at Frankfurt, Germany. (October)
1943
Military Police Platoon, 1st Cavalry Division redesignated as Military
Police Platoon, 1st Cavalry Division (Special). (04 December)
1944
Elements of the 88th Division, including the 88th Division Military
Police Platoon, enter Rome, arriving at the Piazza Venezia at 7:15 PM.
(04 June)
1944
The invasion of Europe. Military police from the 783rd MP Battalion
also come ashore at Utah and Omaha Beaches with troops of the First,
Fourth and 29th Infantry Divisions. (06 June)
1944
Company "D", 783rd MP Battalion arrives in Normandy and relieves
military police from the Fourth, 82nd and 101st Infantry Divisions.
(10 June)
1944
Military police from the 783rd, 793rd and one other MP battalion,
begin to control traffic on the "Red Ball Express" during the
advance across France. They keep traffic moving from St. Lo to
Chartres and Sommesous on the southern route and to Paris and Soissons
on the northern route. The "Red Ball Express" is formally terminated
on 16 November 1944. (25 August)
1944
The "White Ball Express" runs from Le Havre to Rouen and Reims from
06 October to 13 December 1944.
1944
The "ABC Highway Express" runs from Antwerp to Brussels to Charleroi
from 30 November to 31 December 1944.
1944
American forces land on Leyte, in the Philippine Islands.
(20 October)
1944
The Provost Marshal General's School moves to Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
(October)
1944
Provost Marshals are designated Rear Area Commanders.
(21 November)
1945
American troops liberate Manila, in the Philippines. (04 February)
1945
The Provost Marshal General's School moves again, this time to Camp
Bullis, Texas. (March)
1945
In the early morning hours two military policemen of the 90th
Division, PFC Clyde Harmon and PFC Anthony Kline, stop two French
displaced women enroute to find a midwife, near the town of Merkers.
Because it is after curfew, they decide to escort them back to town.
As they pass the Kaiseroda Salt Mine, they overhear the women talk
about gold stored in the mine. The information is forwarded from the
military police to the Division G-5. The 712th Tank battalion and
357th Infantry Regiment are then detailed to guard the mine's five
entrances and 30 miles of galleries. The mine is eventually found to
contain all of the German Reichsbank gold and reserve monies, totaling
2.7 billion Reichsmarks and nearly 250 tons of gold. In addition there
are foreign currencies, including 98 million French francs, and all
the major artworks that had been obtained by the German government
during the war. The total value of this discovery exceeds 100 million
dollars. (07 April)
1945
The first all-black MP unit in the CBI, the 175th MP Platoon (Colored)
is activated. (12 April)
1945
Military police conduct the last mass execution in the United States,
with the hanging of seven German Prisoners of War at the United States
Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. They had been
convicted, by a court martial in August 1944, of murdering another
German POW at the POW Camp, Papago Park, Phoenix, Arizona, in March
of 1944. The execution was conducted by the USDB Commandant, Colonel
William S. Eley and his assigned military police. (25 August)
1945
General MacArthur arrives in Japan and establishes Allied Occupation
Headquarters. (30 August)
1945
Japan formally surrenders at 9:03 AM (local) aboard the battleship
Missouri in Tokyo Bay. (02 September)
1945
By the end of the year there have been approximately 150 battalions
and 900 other military police units activated. In all 9,250 officers
and over 200,000 enlisted men will have served in the US Army military
police in World War II, making it the largest police force in modern
history. (December)
1946
Major General Ernest N. Harmon is appointed Commanding General of the
US Constabulary, in Germany. This unit is designated to replace the
district constabularies. It is designed to operate with a strength of
approximately 38,000 men, with the responsibility to conduct law
enforcement operations, and consisted of counter-intelligence,
military police, and specially trained cavalry troops. They are
distinguishable by their gold scarves, black helmet liners, with one
blue and two yellow stripes, and the color constabulary patch painted
in front. (10 January)
1946
The US Constabulary School opens at the former Adolph Hitler Schule at
Sonthofen. (16 February)
1946
The 793rd MP Battalion absorbs the Nuremberg Trial military police and
takes control of the prisoners. (April)
1946
The Chief of Staff of the Army authorizes the continuation of the
Office of the Provost Marshal General and the Corps of Military
Police. (June)
1946
Between 1:00 AM and 3:00 AM, military police escort the 10 Nuremberg
Trial condemned prisoners to their execution, by hanging. Military
police from the 508th MP Battalion, headquartered in Munich, and
members of the US Constabulary remove the bodies, after execution, to
Dachau where they are cremated. Their ashes are scattered in a brook
near Munich. The other prisoners found guilty are moved to Spandau
Prison to be guarded by the allied powers until their sentences
expire. (16 October)
1946
Colonel Carol V. Caldwell, Provost Marshal of the Eighth Army,
assumes control of Japanese war criminals, and moves them to Sugamo
Prison. The 720th MP Battalion provides security for the prisoners and
their trial to follow. Six thousand people are indicted and 4,000 will
be convicted of war crimes. Included in the group is Shiro Ishii, who
from 1938-1945 carried on experiments against POW's, including US
forces at the Mukden POW Camp in northeast China. He worked in
coordination with Unit 731, a secret Japanese unit engaged in human
experimentation.
1947
The Military Police Corps is reduced to 2,078 officers and 19,630
enlisted men.
1949
Military Police Platoon, 1st Cavalry Division (Special) reorganized
and redesignated as the 545th Military Police Company and remained
assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division. (25 March)
1950
Enactment of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which replaced the
older Articles of War. (05 May)
1950
On Sunday morning, at approximately 3:30 AM, local time, North Korea
invades South Korea. (25 June)
1950
Public Law 581 of the 81st Congress establishes the Corps of Military
Police, now renamed the Military Police Corps, as a permanent basic
branch of the US Army. (28 June)
1950
One battery of artillery and two companies of the 1st Battalion, 21st
Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division (Task Force Smith), arrives
in Korea. They are the first US ground combat troops committed to the
Korean War. (01 July)
1950
Elements of the 24th MP Company arrive in Korea, from Japan.
(02 July)
1950
At 8:16 AM the first artillery fire by American forces, of Task Force
Smith, begins against a NKA division with 30 tanks near Osan. They are
eventually surrounded and, after holding out for seven hours with
their ammunition exhausted, the US forces finally manage to make their
way south. On this date PVT Kenneth Shadrick, 20, of Wyoming, WV, is
the first soldier killed during the Korean War. He is killed by
machinegun fire, south of Suwon, while engaging a North Korean tank
with a bazooka. (05 July)
1950
The 622nd MP Company arrives in Korea. (05 July)
1950
Lead elements of the 25th MP Company arrive in Korea with the 25th
Infantry Division, from Japan. (10 July)
1950
The 512th MP Company (Colored) arrives in Pusan, with initial duties
as port security for Pusan and Masan. When the North Koreans advance
south, the company is instrumental in keeping the Main Supply Route
(MSR) open for withdrawing US and Korean troops. It is awarded a
Meritorious Unit Citation for this action. It then resumes port
security duties in Pusan. (15 July)
1950
Lead elements of the 545th MP Company arrive in Korea with the First
Cavalry Division, from Japan. (18 July)
1950
From 6:00 PM on this date, and for 36 hours thereafter, a platoon of
military police from the 24th MP Company remains surrounded and
trapped within the city of Taejon, South Korea. The main American
forces had fled south when the city was overrun by the North Korean
3rd and 4th Divisions. The MP's eventually escape and fall back to the
south as the Battle of the Pusan Perimeter unfolds. During this same
battle for Taejon, Major General William F. Dean, the 24th Infantry
Division Commander, becomes missing in action. (20 July)
1950
The 212th MP Company (Colored) arrives at Taegu, Korea, from Yokohama,
Japan. During the initial North Korean push southward, the company
also helps keep the MSR open from Taegu to Pusan. The unit eventually
becomes "C" Company, 728th MP Battalion and is assigned to IX Corps.
(July)
1950
Lead elements of the 2nd MP Company arrive in Korea with the 2nd
Infantry Division, from Fort Lewis, Washington. (01 August)
1950
Less than 1,000 enemy POWs are under control of the United Nations
Command (UNC). (August)
1950
The Inchon landing takes place. (15 September)
1950
Military police land with the infantry, at Inchon, from barges, and
conduct combat and counter- guerilla operations. (18 September)
1950
UN Forces now reportedly have custody of 135,000 POWs.
(03 November)
1950
Military police, from the 2nd MP Company, begin the withdrawal of the
2nd Infantry Division. The division has been holding a rearguard
position for the retreat of the Eighth Army, after the entry of
hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers into Korea. In the area
north of Sunchon, an initial reconnaissance patrol of 20 military
police are organized to secure the Sunchon-Kunu road for withdrawal.
They are either all killed or captured, as they never return.
(29 November)
1950
The remaining men of the 2nd MP Company begins passing through "The
Gauntlet", south of Kunu-Ri. After dark, friendly fire from the 503rd
Field Artillery Battalion drops onto a convoy of 34 stalled vehicles
near "the Pass." Six rounds land directly on five MP vehicles, which
up until now have been traveling the road all day with no injuries.
These artillery hits result in the wounding of 21 of the military
police. During the Eighth Army withdrawal the 24th MP Company fights
as infantry, on the line, supporting the 21st Infantry Regiment.
(30 November)
1950
President Truman declares a state of national emergency.
(16 December)
1950
Military police assigned to the X Corps begin the evacuation of United
Nations personnel, and Korean refugees, from Hungnam.
(19 December)
1950
The evacuation of Hungnam is complete with the removal of 105,000 US
and ROK personnel. An additional 91,000 refugees are collected,
escorted and loaded onto ships. (24 December)
1950
The first radio equipped MP motorcycle in Europe is assigned to
Company "B", 709 MP Battalion in Frankfurt, Germany.
1951
The United Nations Command (UNC) constructs POW Camp No. One on
Koje-do Island, and houses 50,000 enemy POWs. (January)
1951
The Military Police Association is formed at Camp Gordon, Georgia.
(26 April)
1951
The Commander of Far East Forces, asks that his command be integrated.
The all-black 24th Infantry Regiment, established in 1866, is
disbanded and the black soldiers are integrated into white units. The
Eighth US Army either disbands all-black support units, or infuse
white personnel into them, eliminating the last segregated US Army
units. (01 October)
1951
The 8137th MP Group is established on Koje-Do Island, with three
assigned MP Battalions and four additional Escort Guard Companies to
control enemy prisoners of war. (October)
1951
One battalion of the 23rd Infantry Regiment is assigned to bolster
security for the 8137th MP Group at Koje-Do. (November)
1951
The 45th MP Company replaces the 545th MP Company. (05 December)
1951
Military police begin using helicopters to assist in traffic,
straggler, and refugee control.
1952
The United States Army Support Group, Joint Security Area, is
organized at Pan Mun Jom, to facilitate peace talks with North Korea.
The security force established is manned by US Army military police.
(05 May)
1953
The Armistice talks resume at Pan Mun Jom. (26 April)
1956
Specialist 3, Sandra Reburn becomes the first women to attend the
USAEUR Intelligence and MP School at Oberammergau, Germany. She is
assigned to Women's Army Corps (WAC) Det 7822 in Munich, with duty at
the Southern Area Command Provost Marshal's Office, in Munich.
(February)
1956
Traffic radar is first used, by military police, in Europe.
(March)
1956
The AG 44, Army Greens, become the standard uniform, thus ending the
"Brown Boot Army". (01 October)
1957
545th Military Police Company inactivated in Japan and relieved from
assignmenmt to the 1st Cavalry Division. (15 October)
1958
The last mounted unit of the United States Army, the Horse Platoon,
287th MP Company (Separate), is retired at Headquarters, Berlin. The
platoon was formed in Berlin in October 1945 with men and horses from
the 78th Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop, 78th Infantry Division. The
horses originally came from a Hungarian Cavalry unit captured by US
forces at Mecklenburg, Germany. (01 April)
1959
The Strategic Army Corps (STRAC) is established with a base of four
divisions. The force, totalling 150,000 troops includes specially
selected military police units. (28 May)
1961
The beginning of the Berlin Crisis. Four National Guard divisions are
activated. (10 July)
1961
East German troops seal East Berlin, by erecting the Berlin Wall. US
forces worldwide, are placed on alert. Reinforcements are sent to
West Berlin, including additional military police to support the 287th
MP Company which still occupies the American Zone of the city.
(13 August)
1961
A US Army military police patrol in West Berlin is fired on by East
German forces. US armored tanks move in to confront Soviet armored
forces now stationed along the Berlin Wall. (24 August)
1961
The Berlin Crisis passes. (September)
1961
Two Army helicopter companies arrive in South Vietnam. They are the
first direct military support to that country. (11 December)
1961
SPC James Davis, of Livingston, TN, is killed in Vietnam. He is
officially listed as the first US soldier to be killed in the Vietnam
War and his death on this date begins the official start of the war by
the US. By the end of the year 14 Americans will have been killed or
wounded. (22 December)
1962
The 560th MP Company, from Fort Hood, TX, arrives in Vietnam. It is
the first military police unit to arrive in Vietnam, and is assigned
duties at Vung Tau. (14 September)
1962
At the University of Mississippi, at Oxford, 29 of the 200 US Marshals
present are injured, when they are required to maintain order against
over 2,000 KKK and student demonstrators trying to keep a black man,
James Meredith, from being admitted to classes. Two-hundred National
Guard troops arrive to assist. The National Guard commander's arm is
broken by a brick and 13 guardsmen are wounded by sniper fire.
Federal troops arrive and after 15 hours the riot is curtailed. Two
are dead and 70 are wounded by the time the riot ends.
(30 September)
1962
On this Sunday the "Cuban Missle Crisis", the worst "superpower"
confrontation and the closest the US and the Soviet Union ever comes
to a nuclear war, begins. It starts when a U-2 reconnaissance aircraft
returns with photographs of Soviet nuclear missiles near the town of
San Cristobel, Cuba. The missiles are of a type that can reach halfway
into the US. (14 October)
1962
President Kennedy orders the US Navy to prepare for a blockade and
places military forces on stand-by. (19 October)
1962
One week after the initial discovery, US forces are mobilized and
preparations are made to invade Cuba. The US goes to Defense Condition
(DEFCON) Two. President Kennedy addresses the nation. One hundred
thousand Cuban forces mobilize to repel the expected US invasion.
(22 October)
1962
The US begins a quarantine of Cuba. Approximately 25 Soviet submarines
are encountered on the high seas, escorting convoys. Six are forced
to surface by US Navy anti-submarine units. Soviet forces are now
placed on alert. (23 October)
1962
At approximately 10:25 AM, a Soviet convoy of 10 ships is stopped by
US Naval forces. President Kennedy personally directs the operation by
radio-telephone to the command ship. (24 October)
1962
"Black Saturday"; Kruschev sends a message that he will withdraw the
missiles from Cuba only if the US withdraws outdated Jupiter Missiles
from Turkey, and the US promises never to invade Cuba.
(27 October)
1962
Soviet forces shoot down a US U-2 aircraft over Cuba, killing the
pilot, USAF Major Anderson. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy goes to
the Soviet Ambassador to the US and gives him an ultimatum that if the
missiles are not withdrawn within 48 hours, or another US aircraft is
shot down, the US will invade Cuba. One hundred and twenty-five
thousand troops are moved to bases in Florida and Georgia.
Anti-aircraft missiles are set up along the coast of Florida. US
troops head to sea from Panama, enroute to Cuba. The US Commander is
given his mission of attacking Santiago and then moving onto Havana.
It is later determined that Cuba has nine tactical nuclear missiles
that could have been used against the US fleet enroute to the island.
(27 October)
1962
The Soviet Union announces that they will withdraw their missiles from
Cuba. Approximately six months later the US also withdraws missiles
from Turkey. (28 October)
1962
The blockade of Cuba is lifted. (02 November)
1963
545th Military Police Company assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division.
(15 July)
1963
545th Military Police Company activated in Korea. (01 September)
1964
Anti-US riots occur in the Panama Canal Zone. Twenty-five Panamanians
and four US forces personnel were killed. Diplomatic relations are
broken off by Panama. (09/10 January)
1964
The US destroyer "Maddox" reports an attack by North Vietnamese patrol
boats in the Gulf of Tonkin. Two days later the US destroyer "Turner
Joy" also reports an attack. (02 August)
1964
Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. (07 August)
1965
After six weeks of travel from Japan, at 9:03 AM (local time), and
under overcast skies and drizzly rain, the four ships of Task Force
76 (USS Mount McKinley, Henrico, Union and Vancouver) arrive at Da
Nang, Vietnam. These are the first US combat troops to deploy to
Vietnam. The two battalion landing teams (3rd Battalion - 9th Marine
Regiment and 1st Battalion - 3rd Marine Regiment) from the 3rd Marine
Division will join the already in-place 23,000 US forces personnel.
The 3,500 arriving US Marines are greeted by sightseers, prostitutes
and four US Army soldiers. (08 March)
1965
The 716th MP Battalion arrives in Vietnam. (24 March)
1965
The first US forces arrive in the Dominican Republic, with the landing
of 405 US Marines in Santo Domingo, the country's capital. Eventually
12,439 US Army forces, including the 82nd MP Company, 82nd Airborne
Division, as well as other military police units, along with 6,924 US
Marines, will serve here until December 1965, during that country's
crisis. (28 April)
1965
The 89th MP Group, is activated. (17 June)
1965
The 15th MP Brigade, US Army Area Command, Federal Republic of
Germany, is activated. It is the first MP brigade in US Army history.
(25 June)
1965
Elements of the 1st MP Company arrive in Vietnam, as part of the
American build-up. (July)
1965
The 545th MP Company arrives in Vietnam with the First Cavalry
Division. (28 July)
1965
The remainder of the 1st MP Company arrives in Vietnam. (0ctober)
1966
The 25th Anniversary of the Military Police Corps. Also on this date
the 18th MP Brigade becomes operational in Vietnam. At the height of
the war it will consist of over 6,000 military policemen.
(26 September)
1967
Two major race riots occur. The first, between 12 - 17 July 1967,
occurs in Newark, New Jersey. It begins when white police officers are
seen clubbing and kicking a black taxi driver, while bringing him
into a police station. A black mob throws a firebomb and bricks at the
police station. Police break up the mob, but for four days the mobs
burn, loot and destroy property within the city. (July)
1967
North Korean forces attack US forces at the Joint Security Force
Advance Camp killing one US MP and two ROK MP's as well as wounding
12 others. (August)
1967
The 18th MP Brigade is assigned responsibility for security of a 22
square mile area south of Long Binh, Vietnam. This is the first time
that military police are given a tactical area of responsibility in a
combat zone. (September)
1967
Almost 10,000 soldiers, including the 503rd MP Battalion, and 236 US
Marshals, prevent part of approximately 100,000 antiwar demonstrators
from storming the Pentagon. They are in Washington, DC., for the
"Stop the Draft Week" demonstrations. Six hundred and eighty-six
people are arrested. (21 October)
1968
At Ban Me Thout, just after midnight, MP SPC Ron McCollar, begins
clearing American soldiers from the village's five bars, due to his
belief in an impending VC attack. At 1:35 AM, 2,000 enemy troops from
the 33rd NVA Regiment and the 301st VC Local Force Battalion,
supported by rocket and mortars, do attack the city and the military
installations in the area. (30 January)
1968
The start of the "Tet 68 Offensive". (31 January)
1968
North Korea seizes the "USS Pueblo". (23 January)
1968
The "Tet Offensive" in the Saigon area is declared over, but fighting
will continue within the city for several more weeks. In this one week
period the total losses for the 716th MP Battalion are 27 killed and
45 wounded. (06 February)
1968
At 10:45 PM, a North Korean patrol ambushes a Joint Security Force
3/4 ton truck enroute to change military police posts in the Armistice
Area. The vehicle was attacked just south of Tae Song Dong, within the
Demilitarized Zone. (14 April)
1968
In Vietnam the Spring, or second "Tet Offensive" begins. Attacks are
launched against 122 military installations, airfields and towns,
including Saigon. (05 - 07 May)
1968
At midnight the Vietnam War becomes the longest war in US history (six
years, six months, and one day). The date starts on December 22, 1961,
with the death of SPC Livingston. The previous longest war was the
Revolutionary War, which lasted six years and six months (23 June)
1968
North Korea releases the crew of the "USS Pueblo" at Pan Mun Jom,
Korea. They are preceded by the coffin of Duane D. Hodges, which is
loaded aboard a 3/4 ton US Army ambulance. The rest of the crew are
brought back through the Joint Security Area at Pan Mun Jom on Army
buses, and escorted to Seoul by military police. (22 December)
1969
US troop strength in Vietnam peaks at 543,400. (30 April)
1970
Henry Kissinger begins secret peace talks in Paris. (20 February)
1972
The 3rd Brigade (Separate), 1st Cavalry Division, departs Vietnam.
(28 June)
1972
The last combat brigade, the 196th Infantry Brigade (Separate),
withdraws from Vietnam. (29 June)
1973
The Paris Peace Pact is signed, ending US participation in the Vietnam
War. Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announces the end of the draft.
(27 January)
1973
A cease fire begins with the last artillery fire stopping at 8:05 AM
(local). (28 January)
1973
The first American prisoners of war released by North Vietnam arrive
at Clark Air Force Base, in the Philippines. (12 February)
1973
The last US troops leave Vietnam, thus ending US participation in the
Vietnam War. Left behind are only 8,500 US civilian technicians and a
small contingent of US Marines to guard the US embassy. (29 March)
1973
The 18th MP Brigade, the last major color-bearing unit to leave
Vietnam, is inactivated at Oakland, California. At the height of the
Vietnam War there were over 30,000 military police serving in the US
Army. (30 March)
1973
The US Army's first women military police report to their units for
duty. (September)
1973
US Forces are placed on precautionary alert due to the appearance of
Russian intervention into the "Yom Kippur War" or "War of Ramadan"
between Israel and multiple Arab nations. (25 October)
1974
After almost 33 years of continuous service, and a tradition dating
back to at least the Civil War, the Office of the Provost Marshal
General of the Army is abolished. The functions and responsibilities
are transferred to the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for
Personnel (DCSPER), Department of the Army. (20 May)
1974
With the publishing of DA GenwrAl Order No. 6, the 716th MP Battalion
becomes the most highly decorated military police battalion in the
United States Army. In Vietnam the battalion served in 16 campaigns,
adding seven unit citations to it's one 1945 citation.
1975
At 7:53 AM, 11 US Marines (the last of 865 Marines assigned to guard
the US Embassy) carrying the American flag, are airlifted from the US
Embassy rooftop helipad. Three hours later the Vietnam War finally
ends when North Vietnamese tanks break into the Presidential Palace.
(30 April)
1975
The Military Police School moves to Fort McClellan, Alabama.
1976
At approximately 10:45 AM, over 30 North Korean soldiers attack a tree
cutting detail of five South Korean laborers in the Joint Security
Area at Pan Mun Jom, Korea. Also there, for security purposes, are
two American officers, one ROK officer, and eight MP's. The North
Koreans kill Captain Arthur G. Bonifas, of Newburgh, NY, and First
Lieutenant Mark T. Barrett of Columbia, SC, and injure twelve others.
(18 August)
1980
Federal troops, including military police, are detailed to Fort
Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, Fort McCoy,
Wisconsin and Eglin Air Force Base, Florida for the Cuban Refugee
Resettlement Operation. (May)
1980
Several National Guard and Army Reserve military police battalions are
activated. (Summer)
1983
The 82nd MP Company. (ABN) lands in Grenada, beginning "Operation
Urgent Fury". (25 October)
1983
Hostilities end from "Operation Urgent Fury". By the end of the
operation 18 US Forces are killed, and 83 are wounded. One thousand
Americans were evacuated. (02 November)
1986
The Military Police Regiment is formed at Fort McClellan, Alabama with
USAMPS Commandant Brigadier General David H. Stem assuming command of
the Regiment. (24 September)
1986
The Regiment is officially recognized. (26 September)
1987
US Army military police are detailed to support federal prison
authorities during the Atlanta Federal Prison riots.
(November 1987 - April 1988)
1988
General Manuel Antonio Noriega, leader of Panama's Defense Forces is
indicted by a US grand jury in Miami, Florida, on money laundering and
drug trafficking charges. (05 February)
1988
"Operation Golden Pheasant" begins. As a continuing mission to
Honduras, the operation consists of an infantry task force, along with
military police units, to assist in security and protection
operations. (March)
1988
JTF-Panama begins in Panama. This operation, which lasts until
December 1989, consists of security and protection missions.
(March)
1989
In "Operation Nimrod Dancer" - Panama, an infantry task force is
deployed to Panama to provide security and protection until November.
Military police are attached to the task force and additional support
is received from military police already assigned in Panama. (May)
1989
"O[eration Hawkeye" deployed US Army troops to assist civilian
authorities after Hurricane Hugo strikes the US Virgin Islands.
(September/October)
1989
The Berlin Wall comes down. (09 November)
1989
"Operation Just Cause" begins in Panama. The 7th and 82nd Military
Police Companies take part in the operation with their respective
divisions as well as the 549th MP Company, stationed in Panama. At
1:30 AM, Captain Linda Bray, of the 519th MP Battalion, leads a
platoon of military police in an attack against a Panamanian Defense
Forces (PDF) compound near Panama City. After calling for their
surrender, and receiving fire, she drives a vehicle through the closed
gate of the compound, forcing them to flee. Military police quickly
secure the compound and capture weapons left behind. They then secure
other portions of the Curundu and Curundu Heights areas and protect
the Balboa harbor. By her actions, she earned the distinction of being
the first woman in United States history to lead US troops into
battle. (20 December)
The operation results in Manuel Noriega surrendering on 03 January,
1990 to US Marshals at the Vatican Embassy. US casualties are 23
killed and 220 wounded. Panamanian losses are at least 500 killed, but
civilian losses are estimated to have been higher. US troops remained
committed until March 1990.
1990
"Operation Promote Liberty" followed "Operation Just Cause" in Panama.
Military police units rotate in four-month cycles in this
nation-assistance mission. (March)
1990
Iraq invades Kuwait. Within weeks of the invasion US military forces
begin deployment to Saudi Arabia, in "Operation Desert Shield",
including one military police group, the 545th MP Company, 1st Cavalry
Division. (02 August)
1990
Checkpoints "Alpha" and "Bravo" in Berlin are finally closed.
Checkpoint "Charlie," manned by US Army military police for 45 years,
is converted into a museum. (03 October)
1990
The 534th MP Company stops a coup attempt and hostage situation, in
Panama City, Panama. They capture the colonel in charge, and are
tasked to secure the soldiers that attempted the coup at two Panamanian
prisons. (December)
1991
"Operation Desert Shield" becomes "Operation Desert Storm" as the air
war begins at approximately 2:00 AM, local time. (17 January)
1991
The first ground forces to engage the Iraqi Armed Forces are a group
of US Marines who attack the Iraqis after they invade the coastal town
of Kafji, in Saudi Arabia. The Iraqis are eventually forced out, but
11 Marines are killed in the battle. (30 January)
1991
At 4:00 AM, local time, "Operation Desert Saber" (the ground war)
begins. The US Third Army, under the US Central Command, oversees the
operation. US Army combat forces consist of the VII and XVIII (AB)
Corps. In the first ten hours of battle, 5,500 POWs are captured.
(23 February)
1991
The 214th MP Company, (AL ARNG), assigned to the 118th MP Battalion,
14th MP Brigade, under the operational control of the 2nd Armored
Cavalry Regiment (ACR), VII Corps, engages enemy units while advancing
north in Iraq, just west of the Kuwaiti border. The unit is engaged in
making an "end run" in an effort to capture Iraqi Republican Guard
units still in Kuwait. The 214th uses it's attached cavalry platoon,
with four M1A1 Abrams tanks and four M3A1 Bradley fighting vehicles
(from the 2nd ACR), to engage an Iraqi motorized rifle company, and
destroys seven BTR's and kills 15 enemy troops. During the ground
offensive the 214th MP Company established seven temporary EPW holding
areas containing 4,500 EPWs, processed an additional 6,500 EPW in
other locations, assisted in the interrogation of 56 EPW (using it's
attached 18 MI personnel from B Co, 502 MI Bn), and captured one Iraqi
communications tracked vehicle. (27 February)
1991
Operation Desert Storm ends. By the end of the war approximately
20,000 military police will have served in the theater of operations.
They will have conducted over 1,000,000 miles of incident free
movement and processed over 22,000 EPW's. (28 February)
1992
After four Los Angeles police are found not guilty in a state court
for the Rodney King assault, a major riot breaks out in Los Angeles.
The 670th MP Company assembles at the Los Angeles Police Academy, less
than 13 hours after being activated for riot control duty, after the
four Los Angeles police are aquitted in the Rodney King assault. The
119 MP's are part of the first contingent of over 9,000 National Guard
troops deployed on federal active duty. One of the first units to
alert and muster for duty to support the local police is the 40th MP
Company, 40th Infantry Division in Los Alamitos. (29 April)
1992
The units are federalized by Presidential Order. They leave later in May.
Forty-four people are killed and hundreds injured as a result of the riot.
Property damage exceeds $1 billion dollars. (01 May)
1992
"Operation Provide Relief" begins. Two military police platoons are
deployed on this mission to provide humanitarian assistance in
Mombasa, Kenya. One platoon from the 287th MP Company, Berlin Brigade,
deploys from October through December 1992, while a second MP platoon
from the 272nd MP Company, 95th MP Battalion, 14th MP Brigade,
USAREUR, relieves them from December 1992 through February 1993.
(October)
1992
"Operation Provide Promise", Croatia. From this date, until November
1993, military police squads are rotated from the 18th MP Brigade,
USAREUR, to perform security operations. Units deployed were from the
709th MP Battalion, 284th and 527th MP Companies, Germany.
(November)
1992
US forces deploy to Somalia for "Operation Restore Hope" and
"Operation Continued Hope". Military police units are an integral part
of the operations. At it's peak, the mission required a full MP
battalion with four companies, and one division MP company. They work
with military police from Pakistan, Bangledesh and Nigeria.
(30 November)
1993
By this date, over 4,000 US forces are now deployed in Somalia.
(05 July)
1993
"Operation Able Sentry" begins in Macedonia. This joint law and order
mission, which is on-going, is supported by military police squads
rotated from the 287th MP Company, Berlin Brigade and the 3rd MP
Company, 3rd Infantry Division, Germany. (July)
1993
Near the Medina marketplace, in Mogadishu, Somalia, at just before
9:00 AM, a command-detonated mine, containing approximately 50 pounds
of explosives, is detonated under a military police patrol. A second
trail vehicle, with five MPs, assists the mortally wounded driver and
secure the scene. Eight other MP teams quickly arrive and assist until
a QRF from the 10th Mountain Division arrives. The driver and three
other MPs are killed in the explosion.(08 August)
1993
Four military police working dog teams deploy to Somalia.
(October)
1995
US forces deploy to Bosnia in "Operation Joint Endeavor".
(November)
1995
Initial military police units are sent to Taszar, Hungary and Tuzla,
Bosnia as part of the Implementation Force (IFOR). (03 December)
1996
The US Army announces that the 1,200 combat troops of "Operation Joint
Endeavor" now stationed in Bosnia will begin to be replaced by 1,400
military police personnel. (02 July)
2005
Inactivated at 1at Fort Hood, Texas, and relieved from assignment to
the 1st Cavalry Division. (05 October)
2008; Activated at Fort Richardson, Alaska. (06 August)
| 
The Army did not begin a formal program for determining lineage and honors
until the 1920s. Before that time, considerable confusion existed within the
Army about the accepted procedures and methods for determining the prior
history of units and their entitlement to battle honors. With the
demobilization of the Army following World War I, many distinguished units
were lost from the rolls. To avert such problems in the future, the Historical
Section of the Army War College assumed responsibility for maintaining
historical information about Army units: thus lineage work began.
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