Provost marshal

This article is about military usage of the termprovost.For other uses, seeProvost (disambiguation).

Lieutenant ColonelJames P. Smith, Jr., provost marshal of the Berlin District, left, andMajorWilliam J. E. Keish,commanding officer,713th Military Police Battalion, check pass lists for thePotsdam Conferencearea inPotsdam, Germanyon July 14, 1945

Provost marshalis a title given to a person in charge of a group ofMilitary Police (MP).The title originated with an older term for MPs,provosts,from the Old Frenchprévost(Modern Frenchprévôt). While a provost marshal is now usually a seniorcommissioned officer,they may be a person of any rank who commands any number of MPs; historically, the title was sometimes applied tocivilian officials,especially under conditions ofmartial law,or when a military force had day-to-day responsibility for some or all aspects of civilianlaw enforcement(such as someBritish colonies). A provost marshal may also overseesecurity services,imprisonment,fire/emergency servicesandambulances.

British Armed Forces

In theBritish Armed Forces,the provost marshal is the head of the military police of each service, with the senior military police officers at lower levels being titled deputy or assistant provost marshals. In many cases the provost marshal is in charge of discipline. Provost Marshal is the oldest extant appointment in the British Army. It dates back to early Tudor times but the office was probably in existence in the 12th century.By the end of the 17th Century eachregimenthad its own provost marshalunder the Provost Marshal General.Currently, the provost marshal (army) is also the commander of the1st Military Police Brigade.

Canadian Armed Forces

TheCanadian Forces Provost Marshal (CFPM)is the branch advisor for theCanadian Forces Military PoliceBranch, and also the Commander of the Canadian Forces Military Police Group (CF MP Gp). The CFPM is headquartered in Ottawa and has five sections, each under the command of a Deputy Provost Marshal (DPM): DPM Police, DPM Resource Management, DPM Individual Training and Education, DPM Security, and DPM Professional Standards.

The CF MP Gp is composed of theCanadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS),Military Police Security Services (MPSS), Canadian Forces Service Prison and Detention Barracks (CFSPDB), and Canadian Forces Military Police Academy (CFMPA).

German Armed Forces

The chief of the German Military Police (Feldjäger) is calledGeneral der Feldjägertruppe(equivalent to provost marshal general). The German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) do not have a specific title for military police officers so in most tactical units and especially in multinational deployments, they will use the English termprovost marshal.

New Zealand Defence Force

The provost marshal of the Joint Military Police Unit holds a senior commissioned rank. Currently a colonel holds the provost marshal position for the NZDF.

The provost marshal is responsible for all three military police units from the Navy, Army and Air Force.

United States Armed Forces

In theUnited States ArmyandUnited States Marine Corps (USMC),the senior-most military law enforcement officer is theProvost Marshal General (PMG)(Army) or provost marshal (USMC). The US Army PMG is a post that was reinstated in 2003, having been abolished 29 years earlier. The PMG is a general in charge of theUnited States Army Military Police Corps,U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division(CID) andUnited States Army Corrections Command (ACC)policy and procedures from the Office of the Provost Marshal General (OPMG) atThe Pentagon.

The senior MP officer at the theater, corps, division, and brigade level and for each garrison is known as a provost marshal. In many US Army garrisons, a provost marshal is at times also responsible for the provision of fire and physical security as well as law enforcement services and thus is also referred to as the Director of Emergency Services (DES).

Other uses

The British far-right groupBritain Firstalso use the rank, presumably as head of theirparamilitarywing 'Britain First Defence Force', with provision for two "provosts marshal" in their official group constitution.

In popular culture

• In the 1988 filmThe Presidio,Sean Conneryportrayed Lt. Colonel Alan Caldwell, the base provost marshal.

See also

• Provost (civil)
• Provost Sergeant

External links

• Canadian Forces Provost Marshal website