Page:Robert K. Wright - Military Police - CMH Pub 60-9-1.pdf/9



By regulation, the Center of Military History is responsible for determining the lineages and battle honors of the Army's units. Lineages and honors serve as a compact outline history. 'When provided to an individual unit in the form of a certificate over the signature of the Chief of Military History, they officially recognize that unit's organizational history and those campaign streamers and honors and heraldic items which it is entitled to bear. This volume gathers together the compact histories of all major military police units in the U.S. Army in order to perpetuate and publicize for the military police, soldiers throughout the Army, and the general public those traditions, honors, and devices proudly carried by the Military Police Corps.

Army leaders have long recognized that an awareness of a unit's history and traditions contributes directly to its esprit de corps. Today's Army, composed of professional soldiers, understands that a sense of unit pride is critical in the blending of its many specialized branches into the combined arms team needed to cope with the demands of the battlefield of the future.

Although the Military Police Corps will only celebrate its first half century in 1991, its soldiers can trace their heritage to t11e foundation of the Republic. Since the organization of the first unit in the Continental Army in 1778, military police have witnessed a steady increase in responsibilities, particularly during the wars of this century. I recommend that a ll members of the corps take time to increase their knowledge of tl1e long and proud history of military police. We offer this volume as an introduction to that worthy enterprise.

Washington, D.C. 18 January 1991 vii