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 prévost. While a provost marshal is now usually a senior commissioned officer, they may be a person of any rank who commands any number of MPs; historically, the title was sometimes applied to civilian officials, especially under conditions of martial law, or when a military force had day-to-day responsibility for some or all aspects of civilian law enforcement. A provost marshal may also oversee security services, imprisonment, fire/emergency services and ambulances.
Lieutenant Colonel James P. Smith, Jr., provost marshal of the Berlin District, left, and Major William J. E. Keish, commanding officer, 713th Military Police Battalion, check pass lists for the Potsdam Conference area in Potsdam, Germany on July 14, 1945
Provost (military police)
Provosts are military police (MP) whose duties are policing solely within the armed forces of a country, as opposed to gendarmerie duties in the civilian population. However, many countries use their gendarmerie for provost duties.
A military police NCO from Guatemala with a Galil rifle
Australian Army Land Rover and two military police motorcycles
Military policemen of the army stand at ease during a ceremony at the National Monument, Central Jakarta
The "MP" patch identifies this woman as being a member of the Joint Military Police Unit.