Each branch of the Armed Forces of the United States maintains its own police force. The following is a list of military police forces:
- Military Police Corps/Office of the Provost Marshal General—United States Army
- Provost Marshal's Office (base law enforcement) and Law Enforcement Battalions (combat support or "field MPs") —United States Marine Corps
- Masters-at-Arms or MAs are enlisted Sailors of the U.S. Navy, designated as Naval Security Force (NSF), primarily responsible for law enforcement and force protection. NSF personnel are led by Naval commissioned officers from the Limited Duty Officer (LDO) and Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) communities, who are also designated as NSF. Additionally, a host installation's Security Force (both overseas and in the Continental United States) are augmented by Sailors on Temporary Assignment of Duty (TEMADD) from their parent units, as part of the Auxiliary Security Force (ASF). Shore Patrol personnel are Sailors from U.S. naval vessels visiting foreign ports (and some domestic ports) assigned to the Shore Patrol Party or Beach Guard, responsible for the good order and discipline of Sailors from the visiting ship(s) on liberty. Sailors assigned to the Shore Patrol Party or Beach Guard Detachment do not include Sailors assigned to the ship's Security Force, both performing different duties while visiting that country, because of the Status of Force Agreement (SOFA) and/or Rules of Engagement (ROE). Prior to the 1970s, Master-at-Arms and Shore Patrol were used synonymously to refer to Sailors assigned to perform law enforcement and Shore Patrol duties.
- Air Force Security Forces (formerly known as Military Police, Air Police and Security Police)—United States Air Force
Each service also maintains uniformed civilian police departments. They are referred to as Department of Defense Police (DoD Police). These police fall under each directorate they work for within the United States Department of Defense, for example: DoD Army or DoD Navy Police. The Department of the Air Force Police operate under the Air Provost Marshal. The police officers' duties are similar to those of local civilian police officers. They enforce the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), federal and state laws, and the regulations of their particular installation.
Felony level criminal investigations in the United States Armed Forces are carried out by separate agencies:
- Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID)—Army (general felony crimes)
- Army Counterintelligence (CI)—Army (national security crimes)
- Marine Corps Criminal Investigation Division (CID)—Marine Corps
- Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS)—Navy and Marine Corps
- Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI)—Air Force
- Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS)—Coast Guard
- The Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) is a civilian agency that answers directly to the DOD as well as the Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA).
MP's in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, in addition to their roles as enforcers of law and order on military installations, fulfill a number of combat roles as well. Military Police in Afghanistan and Iraq have been widely employed for such duties as convoy security, mounted and dismounted patrols, maritime expeditionary warfare, Military Working Dog operations, security details for senior officers, and detainee handling. Army MPs, Navy MAs, Navy Sailors who possess the Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) Code 2008 and 9575, Navy Sailors who have completed the Individual Augmentee (IA) training for Detention Operations,and Air Force Security Forces have been widely used as prison guards in detainee facilities, whereas Marine Corps MPs focus on securing and processing detainees before passing them on to Army holding facilities.
As always, most of the above-mentioned artworks are available via my “Military Insignia” galleries from FineArt America and RedBubble. Also, don’t forget to navigate to Special Operations Group website and check out their extensive product selections featuring some of my art. Upon request, artwork in those galleries can be customized with ranks and, wherever appropriate - individual badge numbers.
To active duty or reserve military personnel, veterans and their family members: I grant an explicit permission to download the above images to be used for non-profit/non-commercial and charitable causes, benefiting troops and their families, as well as for non-commercial internal duty-specific purposes, such as unit website design, training materials and presentations.
The above information provided in part by Wikipedia, The Institute of Heraldry, Global Security, and the official websites of the corresponding units and formations.
