 For those of us who have never had any dealings with the military police, this is the image we are likely to have of them. Remote and vaguely threatening figures who spend their time giving out traffic tickets, picking up weekend drunks, or standing around bus stations looking for a-walls. In other words, tough cops. But such impressions are misleading. There is far more dimension to the world of the military police. Today, as well as in the past. It's dimension that has grown out of the remarkable diversity of missions military police have been called on to perform throughout their proud history. In this film, we're going to take a look at the origins of this soldier-soldier. And find out why the army needs a military police corps. We'll discover where the military police have been. Where they are today. And where their future history may be heading. In their ever-expanding duties, military police play an indispensable role in today's army. On paper, the corps is one of the army's youngest branches. But its traditions go back even before this nation was founded. Military police were known even in the armies of ancient times. But this proclamation by King Charles I of England is the first recorded notice of a provo-appointment and deities. The American military police were originally created by George Washington to serve the Continental Army, and were uniformed something like this. Though their orders called for them to be mounted on horseback and armed as light dragoons, they served primarily in the capacity of rounding up drunks, rioters, and deserters. Yet the corps had performed a useful mission and was not forgotten. During the Civil War, the job of provo-martial was revived, and the military police were resurrected, this time on a much larger scale. Wearing these differently colored uniforms and called a veteran's corps, they particularly distinguished themselves in the control of draft evaders and stragglers. To escape military obligations, thousands of men had been crossing to the far side of the Potomac River. But once military police patrols and checkpoints were set up, the straggler problem quickly became a thing of the past. By keeping more men in the ranks, the military police contributed substantially to the Union victory in 1865. In subsequent smaller conflicts, such as the Spanish-American War, individual commanders simply assigned men and their units to function as military police. Yet the value and need for military police was never again questioned. Still, it wasn't until the First World War that the military police corps finally emerged as a formal part of the Army structure. When the United States declared war on Germany, the military problems of the Civil War repeated themselves, but on the much broader canvas of an international setting. Furthermore, the increasing complexity of warfare at that time made it clear that specially trained men were needed to carry out the growing number of tasks being assigned to military police. Seeking authorization, General Pershing wrote, Experience dictates that the military police corps should have permanent personnel for efficiency. This organization is deemed absolutely necessary for our forces in Europe. As soon as possible, Pershing also ordered a training depot for military police to be set up in France. This General Headquarters Order No. 200 in France, dated 9 November 1918, announced that for the first time, a uniform set of physical and mental qualifications were being established for those serving as military police. Pershing himself noted that the nature of military police responsibilities and duties requires an exceptionally high standard of intelligence, education and physical condition. A private in this corps, he said, must possess all the qualities usually found in a non-commissioned officer. On the battlefield and in the trenches, military police could be identified by their red collar tabs, and it was in the First World War when the most familiar symbol of the corps, the Bazaar, gave into existence. Though it seems so natural to us now, the 1917 Order Red, officers and enlisted men when actually on duty as military police will wear a blue brazard on their left arm between elbow and shoulder bearing the letters MP in white. In addition, a set of formal instructions like these were issued to every MP. After the war in 1923, Pershing himself approved the crossed pistols as the official insignia of the corps and this symbolic pair of Harper's Ferry Flintlock pistols dating from 1806 is now on exhibit in the Military Police Museum at Fort McClellan, Alabama. But despite their gallantry over there, the military police had to wait until 1941 to be officially recognized as an integral part of our armed forces. This letter dated September 26, 1941 and signed by Major General R.S. Adams authorizing the corps creation signifies the birthday of our present military police. Soon after, World War II was upon us and military police ranks expanded rapidly to keep up with the global scale of the conflict. The long arm of the corps soon encircled the earth and military police found themselves moving traffic on the tortuous Burma Road landing on Normandy beach heads to support amphibious operations and managing enemy prisoners of war everywhere from Italy to the South Pacific. The men of the corps often performed as engineers and fought as infantry. They were instrumental in achieving the first bridgehead across the Rhine the famous bridge at Cremacan a presidential citation recognizing the MP's extraordinary gallantry there reads in part this sector was the target of 24-hour day artillery, air and even V2 attacks. Unable to take cover under the murderous fire, the MPs remained at their posts on the bridge though casualties among them mounted each day. It was the cool and capable direction of the military police which ensured the crossing of troops and supplies vitally needed to establish the bridgehead. They kept the bridge open with a magnificent display of courage and devotion to duty during those crucial five days that the bridge remained standing. Cremacan was surely one of the corps' finest hours. At peak strength in World War II, over 200,000 men were serving as MPs proving many times over to be more than a white glove operation. What's more, this time their job didn't end when the last shot was fired. Commanders now recognized the contributions military police could make and for the first time in our nation's history, the corps became a part of the peacetime force structure. In the years that followed World War II, they came to play an important role in the occupied lands. In many instances, military police were the first forces to move into these areas where they fostered trust and respect for US military presence. Military police saw to it that food was distributed fairly among the masses of European refugees in bombed out cities. Often serving as the only form of local authority, they worked to combat the problems of crime and black marketeering in these ravaged areas. Later, in support of local provisional governments, they were often called upon to maintain law and order during the civil disturbances of these troubled times. Gradually, as more normal conditions returned, the MP's jobs began to take on a more familiar look. This unit was assigned to Policing Germany's Autobahn. Though a training facility had been hastily established in the United States during the war years, it wasn't until 1947 that a school for military police was finally established. These early classes at Fort Gordon, Georgia included lessons in police procedures, unarmed self-defense, and of course, traffic control. Many of the persons who trained here later saw their first action in the Korean conflict, a limited and frustrating police action that tested our army and our nation. But in Korea, the military police added another dimension to their history, as all the lessons from World War II were put to the test. While some military police units spent their time fighting skirmishes to keep the supply routes open, others worked to direct truck convoys over a most difficult network of roads, a task that at one time required 80% of the MPs in Korea. As the conflict wore on, many of the same MPs were switched to the entirely different task of supervising rapidly filling enemy prisoner of war camps, where security, welfare and services now became their primary concern. Even long after hostilities had ceased, military police remained on duty in Korea, patrolling the demilitarized zone and monitoring the exchange of prisoners. The history of the military police corps has always been characterized by expanding responsibilities with each succeeding war, one reason why the corps has been such a dynamic arm of the service. In Vietnam, military police had to once again adapt themselves to an entirely different style of warfare, and in doing so, managed to forge a whole new style of performance. Some found themselves conducting river patrol operations, the Mekong Delta, others trained Republic of Vietnam soldiers in military police duties, ran detainee hospital camps, conducted interrogations, or initiated stability operations. They are probably most remembered, however, for their actions during the year of the Tet-68 offensive. Many who were there say that it was the 716th MP battalion that saved Saigon during the all-out enemy surprise attack that day. Paying tribute to the heroic unit that defended the U.S. Embassy, Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker wrote, The alertness, aggressiveness, and tenacity of these men during the Viet Cong assault on the Embassy thwarted the enemy from its goal of destruction. As a direct result of the combat capabilities they demonstrated in Vietnam, the military police corps was, in 1968, designated as a combat support arm of the U.S. Army. There could have been no more fitting a testament to the military police corps, an arm and a service. The rapidly changing nature of modern warfare means that the military police corps must adapt its operations constantly to keep pace. These MP units are engaged in support of a river crossing operation. Yet the peacetime activities of the corps actually account for a greater percentage of its overall effort, and have been the source of most of the corps' recent growth toward new responsibilities. Normally MPs have the mission for maintaining law and order only in areas of military jurisdiction. But if requested by civilian authorities and directed by the President, they may also take a hand in quelling civil disturbances. The MP's ability to deal effectively with these situations, to break them up without injuring anyone, isn't just a matter of good luck. It's the result of crowd control training like this, in the classroom and in the field. Yet military police don't just respond to disruptive and criminal actions. The corps actively works toward trying to keep them from happening in the first place, through a variety of proven security methods. There are military police investigators trained to ferret out more sophisticated crimes, such as computer forgery of cargo documents. Military police have the responsibility in their crime prevention program for protecting both life and property, and do so through their extensive training and experience in the police sciences. On many posts, military police physical security inspection teams are assigned with biased company commanders on both arms room and area security measures. But since not all crimes can be prevented, military police have to be equipped to investigate and solve them as well. Throughout the military, there are military police investigators who handle local problems, such as theft cases. This private has been accused of stealing and selling another soldier's stereo set. For more serious crimes, grand larceny or felonies, the CID's special agents take over. Many of them began their investigative careers as military police. Some have even trained to become specialists in the use of the polygraph, better known as the lie detector. When necessary, military police investigations are backed up by the criminal investigation laboratory. Maned by experts in criminalistics, these modern facilities provide services like ballistic and chemical analysis reports for military police units all over the world. Those military men arrested and convicted of crimes soon find themselves amidst another whole area of military police jurisdiction. Corrections. The military police administer an extensive network of facilities, which include the installation detention facilities at several posts in the United States. The United States disciplinary barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and the retraining brigade at Fort Riley, Kansas. Each of these facilities is designed to handle a different kind of problem soldier. But at them all, the core disciplinary approach is directed toward rehabilitation and correction, rather than the punishment of these offenders. Inmates receive frequent counseling for military police personnel who have received training and counseling techniques in order to accomplish this job. While other branches of the Army deal with things, the military police is primarily concerned with people. That's what makes the Corps such a unique part of the service. Other Corps members here teach or supervise the extensive vocational training programs, which are designed to enable inmates to find a responsible place in military or civilian society upon their release. Looking at the career training opportunities and honor system privileges many of these offenders enjoy, it's clear that the confinement system administered by today's military police has come a long way since the dark days of civil war prisons like Andersonville. Even in their most conspicuous role, traffic enforcement, there's a lot we don't realize about the MP's job. They're not riding around in that patrol car just looking to give you trouble. They're looking out for trouble. Part of the MP's duties are to know and provide useful information about the post where they're stationed. What's more, the military police devote considerable effort to work we don't often see, such as traffic pattern studies, which help eliminate accidents at dangerous intersections and curves. Individual MPs have to know how to safely clear an accident scene. Take care of the injured and interview witnesses in order to get the facts. Their two greatest weapons are probably diplomacy and tact. And when they do latch onto a potentially dangerous individual, they have to know how to apprehend him without endangering themselves or any innocent bystanders. The continuing evolution of MP duties has changed training procedures a great deal since even the days when school classes looked like this. Over the years, training has grown more and more toward simulations of real life situations. At Fort Gordon in the 60s, an entire mock village known as MV City allowed trainings to experience close approximations of what they would soon be dealing with in actuality. In 1975, the renovation of this military police campus at Fort McClellan, Alabama marked the end of the course search for a permanent home and the beginning of a new era for military police development. Though MP training today still includes a few basics from the past, such as hand-to-hand combat skills, students at the Military Police School now have available realistic training facilities on a large scale, a modern fully equipped MP headquarters with its own mock detention cell, a military courtroom, a traffic accident investigation site, mock confinement facilities, and even a model enemy prisoner of war in Turman camp. Today, the history of the military police is about to move forward toward perhaps its most dynamic challenge. New graduates entering the corps have a much greater choice of opportunities than ever before and at the same time carry a greater responsibility. In recent years there has been an increasing prevalence of violent public demonstrations and at the same time a greater emphasis on the constitutional rights of the accused. Even the nature of warfare itself continues to change rapidly and new members of the corps can expect to find more future emphasis on training in areas such as counter-terrorism, stability operations, and rear-area combat security feels that will require more of the MP's attention in coming years. All of these represent new challenges and new demands for the military police of tomorrow. Today's military police are already confronted by situations requiring more judgment and more knowledge of psychology and criminology than were their predecessors of World War II. But as was true for those counterparts of the past, there is still a high value placed on the ability to make quick sound decisions under pressure and the courage to persist in the face of danger. Next time you see the MP's remember that they are more than law enforcement officers. They are symbols of a proud service that our forces around the world have come to respect and depend on. A service that is and has always been of the troops and for the troops.