The provost (pronounced "provo") marshal general is a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

staff position that handles investigations of U.S. Army personnel. It is the highest-ranking

provost marshal Provost marshal is a title given to a person in charge of a group of Military Police (MP). The title originated with an older term for MPs, '' provosts'', from the Old French (Modern French ). While a provost marshal is now usually a senior c ...

position in the U.S. Army, reporting to the

Chief of Staff of the United States Army The chief of staff of the Army (CSA) is a statutory position in the United States Army held by a general officer. As the highest-ranking officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, the chief is the principal military advisor and a ...

. The position brings all aspects of law enforcement in the U.S. Army in a single office. The role has been off and on since 1776 (usually in periods of war time). After shutting down in 1974 at the end of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, it was resurrected on January 30, 2003, following the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. It is responsible for: *

United States Army Military Police Corps The United States Army Military Police Corps (USAMPC) is the uniformed law enforcement branch of the United States Army. Investigations are conducted by Military Police investigators under the Provost Marshal General's Office or special agents ...

(USAMPC) (since 2003) *

United States Army Corrections Command The United States Army Corrections Command (ACC) exercises command and control and operational oversight for policy, programming, resourcing, and support of Army Corrections System (ACS) facilities and Table of Distribution and Allowances, TDA e ...

(ACC) (since 2007) Prior to its most recent organization, the responsibilities of this position were scattered across various army units.

History

American Revolutionary War

William Marony was the first provost marshal general, appointed by

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

on January 10, 1776. The principal job was maintaining jails and supervising 40 executions. Nine men served as provost marshal general until 1778 when the duties were transferred to the Marechausse Corps. Service ended at the end of the war.Evolution of the Office of the Provost Marshal General by Ronald Craig - Military Police - April 2004
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American Civil War

James B. Fry was appointed on March 3, 1863, to be the first provost marshal general during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. The office dealt with recruitment and desertion issues. It also supervised the

Invalid Corps The Veteran Reserve Corps (originally the Invalid Corps) was a military reserve organization created within the Union Army during the American Civil War to allow partially disabled or otherwise infirm soldiers (or former soldiers) to perform li ...

, in which disabled soldiers performed garrison duty (as opposed to field duty). The position was abolished in 1866. An 1866 proposal to reorganise the Army to include a Provost Marshal's Bureau "consisting of a Provost Marshal General with the rank, pay and emoluments of a Brigadier General and an Assistant Provost Marshal General with the rank, pay and emoluments of a Colonel of Cavalry" was rejected on the grounds "that it creates an unnecessary office for an undeserving public servant".

Spanish–American War

Arthur MacArthur, Jr. Arthur MacArthur Jr. (June 2, 1845 – September 5, 1912) was a lieutenant general of the United States Army. He became the military Governor-General of the American-occupied Philippines in 1900; his term ended a year later due to clashes wi ...

was appointed provost marshal general of

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

in July 1901 to provide law enforcement in Manila and the provinces. The position was abolished after about a year.

World War I

Enoch Crowder Major General Enoch Herbert Crowder, USA (April 11, 1859 – May 7, 1932) was an American Army lawyer who served as the Judge Advocate General of the United States Army from 1911 to 1923. Crowder is most noted for implementing and administering ...

was appointed provost marshal general in July 1917 with the Provost Marshal General's Office focusing on enforcing the

Selective Service System The Selective Service System (SSS) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government that maintains a database of registered male U.S. Citizenship of the United States, citizens and o ...

. In World War I, over 24,000,000 men filled out P.M.G.O. Form 1 Registration Cards for the

military draft Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

. During the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

provost marshal generals oversaw military police, prisoner of war, criminal investigation, and circulation in Europe. Among the European marshals were Hanson E. Ely, William H. Allaire, John C. Groome III, and

Harry Hill Bandholtz Harry Hill Bandholtz (December 18, 1864 – May 7, 1925) was a United States Army career officer who served for more than a decade in the Philippines. He was a Major general (United States), major general during World War I, and the US represent ...

. The European component was dissolved in 1919 and the provost marshal general remained an advisor to the War Department until 1927.

World War II

The Basic Field Manual in 1937 outlined the position when it was reactivated. Allen W. Gullion was appointed in 1941. Its duties initially were to control

enemy alien In customary international law, an enemy alien is any alien native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secur ...

s but were later expanded to do

security clearance A security clearance is a status granted to individuals allowing them access to classified information (state or organizational secrets) or to restricted areas, after completion of a thorough background check. The term "security clearance" is ...

investigations and

Military Police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...

. After 1943 it was responsible for

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

s in the United States as well as

Japanese-American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in ranking to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

relocation camps. Toward the end of the war it began investigating crimes and apprehending deserters and would handle the War Crimes Division of the Judge Advocate General's Office.

Post World War II

Gullion remained until April 1944 when he was succeeded by Archer L. Lerch, Blackshear M. Bryan in 1945,

Edwin P. Parker Jr. Edwin Pearson Parker Jr. (July 27, 1891 – June 7, 1983) was a senior officer in the United States Army. Parker commanded the 78th Infantry Division during the Ardennes-Alsace, Rhineland, and Central Europe, campaigns of World War II. Under hi ...

in 1948, William H. Maglin in 1953, and Haydon L. Boatner in 1957.

Vietnam War

Ralph J. Butchers was appointed in 1960 followed by Carl C. Turner in 1964, Karl W. Gustafson in 1968 and finally Lloyd B. Ramsey in 1970 until the office was abolished on May 20, 1974.

War on Terror

After the start of

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

, the position of provost marshal general was recreated.

In popular culture

Sean Connery starred as Lt. Colonel Alan Caldwell, the base provost marshal, in '' The Presidio''.

List of provost marshals general

Here is the list of provost marshals general:

References

{{authority control * *Provost United States Army organization