This publication, Field Manual FM 3-39 Military Police Operations April 2019, describes the operational doctrine of the Military Police Corps Regiment. This manual is aligned with joint and Army doctrine. Other military police doctrinal publications are based on the foundations established in this manual and are synchronized with their respective joint and Army publications.
The principal audience for FM 3-39 is the commanders and staff elements at all echelons and the military police personnel who are tasked with planning, directing, and executing military police missions. Training developers and educators throughout the Army use this manual.
FM 3-39 applies to the Active Army, Army National of the United States and United States Army Reserve unless otherwise stated.
Future operations will occur in complex, chaotic, violent, and uncertain operational environments against peer and near peer threats. These threats are significantly more dangerous in terms of capability and magnitude than those we faced over the last 17 years of conflict. Our Army will accomplish its mission by supporting the joint force through four strategic roles: shape operational environment, prevent conflict, conduct large-scale ground combat, and consolidate gains. The strategic roles clarify the enduring reasons for which the United States Army is organized, trained, and equipped.
FM 3-39, Military Police Operations, describes the operational doctrine for the Military Police Corps Regiment. The revision of FM 3-39 reorients military police support to largescale ground combat while simultaneously supporting other types of operations around the world to prevent peer and near-peer adversaries from gaining positions of relative advantage. Our Army remains the strongest and best land fighting force in the world and the Military Police Corps remains critical to its success. The role of the Military Police Corps is to provide the Army with Soldiers who are professionals in policing, investigations, and corrections. Our military police disciplines of police operations, detention operations, and security and mobility support combined with our core competencies enables us to protect and preserve the force, enable maneuver, and shape the security environment both at home stations and in support of combat operations enabling commanders to apply maximum combat power in support of decisive action any place in the world-against any enemy.
As Army professionals, our doctrine is designed to be our body of professional knowledge that guides how Soldiers perform tasks to fight and win our nations wars. Doctrine serves as the starting point for thinking about how to plan, direct, execute and assess our conduct of operations. Doctrine provides a coherent vision of warfare. Enhances our operational effectiveness. Provides a common frame of reference and cultural perspective to view. Provides a common professional language, which we must know. Highlights our Military Police contributions in support of the Army's four strategic roles within Unified Action. All, while discussing the desirable character traits required in our Soldiers and leaders of today. We must not just read, but read and understand our doctrine. FM 3-39, Military Police Operations, is rooted in time-tested principles and fundamentals that accommodates for new technologies and organizational changes.