And It's

In the old horse cavalry, when they needed a Provost Sergeant, they usually picked the biggest meanest old non commissioned officer they could find and assigned him that duty. It was rare indeed to find a “trained military policeman” in any unit in those days.

When the 545 th was activated at Fort Bliss , Texas they once again chose troopers from all the units to fill military police positions within the company and gave them on the job training.

We have members of the 545 th MP Co. Assn. who were with the unit in Japan just after WW II who can't remember any school trained MP's in the entire unit. Everyone underwent training within the unit to become proficient in the Military Policeman's job and then was eventually assigned to MP duty.

Many of the members of the 545 th were pulled out of line Cavalry Regiments and transferred to the MP Company for training and subsequent assignment as MP's.

With this in mind, it is easy to see why from the very beginning, the MP's felt as though they were not only MP's but Cavalry Troopers as well. That mentality and mind set has been carried on throughout the years and to this day if you call out to a Cav MP “Trooper” he will turn around in answer to your hail! There is no other military organization in the world where commissioned and non-commissioned Military Police Officers feel comfortable in a Dark Blue Stetson Cavalry Hat with crossed Harpers Ferry Pistols mounted on it instead of crossed sabers. In the 1 st Cavalry Division all Military Policemen and women consider themselves not only MP's but cavalrymen as well. There is a very close bond to the Division that will remain for a lifetime just as the bond to the Military Police Corps remains for a lifetime.

So that all you Cavalry MP's can stay in touch and updated as to what is going on within the division, here is a link that I believe you'll enjoy:

1st Cavalry