Provost Marshal



The Provost Marshal is the officer in the armed forces who is in charge of the military police (sometimes called the provost). There may be a Provost Marshal serving at many levels of the hierarchy and he may also be the public safety officer of a military installation, responsible for the provision of fire, gate security, and ambulance services as well as law enforcement. A Provost Marshal may also be in charge of the execution of punishments.

British Armed Forces
In the British 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.

Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces Provost Marshal (CFPM) is the Branch Advisor for the Canadian Forces Military Police Branch, 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 the Canadian 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 called General 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 term Provost Marshal.

United States Armed Forces
In the United States Army and United States Marine Corps, the senior military police officer is the Provost Marshal General (PMG) (Army) or Provost Marshal (USMC). The PMG was a post that was reinstated in 2003, having been abolished for 29 years. The PMG is in charge of the United States Army Military Police Corps, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID) and United States Army Corrections Command (ACC) policy and procedures from an office in The 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.