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{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name= United States Constabulary
|image= USA - Constabulary patch.png
|image_size= 250px
|caption= United States Constabulary patch
|dates= 1946&ndash;1952
|country= {{flag|United States}}
|allegiance= [[Regular Army (United States)|Regular Army]]
|branch={{army|United States}}
|type=
|role= [[Constabulary]]
|size= [[Division (military)|Division]] equivalent
|command_structure=
|garrison=
|garrison_label=
|nickname=Circle C Cowboys<br/>Circle C Cab Company<br/>''Blitzpolizei'' (Lightning police)
|patron=
|motto= '''''Mobility, Vigilance, Justice'''''
|colors=
|colors_label=
|march=
|mascot=
|equipment=
|equipment_label=
|battles=
|anniversaries=
|decorations=
|battle_honours=
|disbanded= 1952
<!-- Commanders -->
|notable_commanders=[[Ernest N. Harmon]]<br/>[[Withers A. Burress]]<br/>[[Louis A. Craig]]<br/>[[Isaac D. White]] <br/>[[Thomas Leonard Harrold|Thomas L. Harrold]]
<!-- Insignia -->
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<!-- Aircraft -->
|aircraft_attack=
|aircraft_bomber=
|aircraft_electronic=
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|aircraft_patrol=
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}}
The '''United States Constabulary''' was a [[United States Army]] military [[gendarmerie]] force. From 1946 to 1952, in the aftermath of [[World War II]], it acted as an occupation and security force in the [[Allied Occupation Zones in Germany|U.S. Occupation Zone]] of [[West Germany]] and [[Austria]].

==Reason==
The concept of a [[police]]-type [[military occupation|occupation]] of [[Germany]] arose from the consideration of plans for the most efficient employment of the relatively small forces available.<ref name=ACMH/>

The speed of redeployment in the fall of 1945, and the certainty that the occupational troop basis would have to be reduced speedily, dictated the utmost economy in the use of manpower. The basic principle of the police-type occupation—that the lack of strength in the forces of occupation must be made up for by careful selection, rigid training, and high mobility—cannot be attributed to any single individual, or indeed to any single agency. Before any plans were worked out for the organization of the United States Constabulary, units of the [[United States Army]] assigned to occupational duties in Germany had experimented with the organization of parts of their forces into motorized patrols for guarding the borders and maintaining order in the large areas for which they were responsible. In September 1945, the [[military espionage|G-2]] Division of [[SHAEF|European Theater Headquarters]] put forward a plan, which was carried into effect towards the end of the years for the organization of a special security force known as the District Constabulary. In October 1945, the [[United States Department of War|War Department]] asked European Theater Headquarters to consider the feasibility of organizing the major portion of the occupational forces into an efficient [[military police]] force on the model of [[state police]] or [[constabulary]] in the United States. The [[occupation of Japan]] was to use local Japanese police forces under American authority, and Washington proposed a similar structure with German or other European policemen.<ref name=ACMH/>{{r|ziemke1975}}

General [[Dwight Eisenhower]] thought that public opinion would reject using Germans, and using other Europeans would cause language difficulties and possibly cause demands to withdraw American forces.<ref name="ziemke1975">{{Cite book |last=Ziemke |first=Earl F. |url=http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/Occ-GY/index.htm |title=The US Army in the Occupation of Germany, 1944-1946 |publisher=Center of Military History, United States Army |year=1975 |location=Washington DC |pages=338-340, 353-357, 421-423 |lccn=75-619027 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213200328/http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/Occ-GY/index.htm |archive-date=2007-12-13}}</ref> Ideas crystallized rapidly. At the end of October 1945, Eisenhower, announced to the proper authorities that the population of the United States Zone of Germany would ultimately be controlled by a super-police force or constabulary. In early November, the strength of the proposed constabulary was announced as 38,000. Planning was well advanced by the end of 1945, when the European Theater Headquarters notified the War Department that the constabulary would be organized as an elite force, composed of the highest caliber personnel obtainable under the voluntary re-enlistment program, and that it would be equipped with an efficient communications network, sufficient vehicles and liaison airplanes to make it highly mobile, and the most modern weapons. During the paper stage, the organization was known by a series of names. "[[State Police]]" was discarded for "State Constabulary." Then it was thought that "State" would be confusing, as the main United States Zone of Germany had been divided, for purposes of civil administration, into three states, or Länder. When the organization emerged from the planning stage, it was known as the "Zone Constabulary," but before it became operational it was named "United States Constabulary."<ref name=ACMH/>{{r|ziemke1975}}

==Command and staff==
On 10 January 1946, Major General [[Ernest N. Harmon]], wartime commander of the [[1st Armored Division (United States)|1st]] and [[2nd Armored Division (United States)|2nd Armored Divisions]] and the [[XXII Corps (United States)|XXII Corps]], was appointed Commanding General of the United States Constabulary.<ref name=ACMH/>{{r|gott2005}}{{rp|11}}

Harmon was then the only member of the Constabulary, but by February he had a staff and a training school.{{r|ziemke1975}} At the direction of Lieutenant General [[Lucian K. Truscott]], Commanding General, [[Third United States Army]], a small group was detailed to assist General Harmon in carrying forward the planning for the new force. Its headquarters was established at [[Bad Tölz]]. Theater Headquarters had already announced the principle that the Constabulary would be organized along geographical lines to coincide as nearly as possible with the major divisions of the German civil administration, in order to facilitate liaison with the German police and United States Offices of Military Government. Thus, there would be one Constabulary Headquarters for the entire United States Zone, a brigade headquarters at each of the capitals of the three German ''Länder,'' and group, squadron, and troop headquarters established at points selected for ease in performing the mission. Theater Headquarters had also directed that the organization charts of the Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron would be used in planning the organization of the Constabulary.<ref name=ACMH/>{{r|gott2005}}{{rp|11}}

The primary unit of the Constabulary, the troop, was organized on the pattern of the mechanized cavalry troop used in the war. In view of its tasks of road and border patrolling and its police-type jobs, the Constabulary needed a greater number of hand weapons and light vehicles, such as jeeps and armored cars. Each troop was divided for patrolling purposes into sections or teams, each of which was equipped with three [[jeep]]s and one [[Armored car (military)|armored car]] serving as a command vehicle and as support in case of emergency. A mobile reserve of one company equipped with light [[tank]]s was established in each Constabulary regiment. Horses were provided for patrolling in difficult terrain along the borders and [[motorcycle]]s for the control of traffic on the super-highways ([[Autobahn]]en). Static border control posts were established at the crossing points.<ref name=ACMH/>{{r|gott2005}}{{rp|12}} The [[1st Infantry Division (United States)|1st Infantry Division]] was stationed at strategic locations as an emergency combat force.{{r|gott2005}}{{rp|11}}

==Uniforms==
[[File:M8 "Greyhound".jpg|thumbnail|An M8 in the Patton Museum, Ft. Knox KY]]
The uniform of the Constabulary trooper was designed both to make him easily recognizable and to distinguish him as a member of an elite force.{{r|ziemke1975}} The "Lightning Bolt" shoulder patch consisting of a circular yellow [[shoulder patch]] with the border of the patch and the letter "C" in the middle being in blue.  A red lightning bolt appeared diagonally angled downward from right to left in the center of the "C".  The yellow, blue, and red combined the colors of the cavalry, infantry, and artillery. Their motto was "Mobility, Vigilance, Justice." To make the troops more distinctive they were given [[US Cavalry]] bright golden yellow scarves, combat boots with a smooth outer surface designed to be [[spit shine]]d, and helmet liners bearing the Constabulary insignia and yellow and blue stripes.<ref name=ACMH/> One ex-member of the force{{Who|date=April 2021}} remembered being called a "circle C cowboy" by soldiers from American regular army units.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}

==Creation==
To create a high morale in the Constabulary as quickly as possible, elements of the 1st and [[4th Armored Division (United States)|4th Armored Division]]s and certain cavalry groups were assigned to form the basis for the new organization. The units converted into Constabulary squadrons and regiments included armored infantry, field artillery, tank, tank destroyer, antiaircraft battalions, and cavalry squadrons.<ref name=ACMH/>

The Constabulary was also called the ''Circle C Cowboys'' because they had approximately 300 horses on duty in Berlin, the U.S. Zone of Germany, and Austria, with two veterinarians to treat them.{{Citation Needed|date=May 2022}}

==Organization==
The [[VI Corps (United States)#Inactivation|VI Corps Headquarters]] became ''Headquarters, United States Constabulary'' on 1 May 1946. The [[1st Armored Division (United States)|1st Armored Division]], activated at [[Fort Knox]], [[Kentucky]], in June 1940 and one of the first American divisions to fight on the other side of the Atlantic, supplied many tank and infantry units. The [[4th Armored Division (United States)|4th Armored Division]] furnished the three brigade headquarters for the Constabulary.<ref name=ACMH/>

These veteran units, seriously depleted by redeployment, now approached a task quite different from that of waging war, but one demanding initiative and high standards in training and discipline. Some of the combat units assigned to the Constabulary were carried temporarily as mere paper organizations, redeployment having taken all their officers and men. Other units had up to 75 percent of their allotted strength, but all the units taken together averaged only 25 percent of their authorized strength.<ref name=ACMH/>

In February 1946, Constabulary Headquarters was established in [[Bamberg]]. During the period when tactical units, released from the [[United States Army Central|Third]] and [[Seventh United States Army|Seventh Armies]], were being redesignated as Constabulary units, the main tasks were training and reorganization. Continuous training was prescribed for the trooper so that he might attain an acceptable standard of discipline and all around efficiency in the use of weapons, vehicles, and communications equipment.<ref name=ACMH/>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Constabulary units in the American Zone as of 1 July 1946<ref>{{cite book|last=Stacy|first=William|date=1984|title=US Army Border Operations in Germany, 1945-1983|location=Heidelberg, Germany|publisher=Headquarters US Army Europe and 7th Army, Military History Office|page=25-27}}</ref>
|-
! Original designation !! Constabulary designation
|-
|HQ & HQ Co., VI Corps||HQ & HQ Troop, US Constabulary
|-
|HQ & HQ Co., 4th Armored Division||HQ & HQ Troop, 1st Constabulary Brigade
|-
|HQ & HQ Co., Combat Command A, 4th Armored Division||HQ & HQ Troop, 2nd Constabulary Brigade
|-
|HQ & HQ Co., Combat Command B, 4th Armored Division||HQ & HQ Troop, 3rd Constabulary Brigade
|-
|'''1st Constabulary Regiment'''||
|-
|HQ & HQ Co., 11th Armored Group||HQ & HQ Troop, 1st Constabulary Regiment
|-
|11th Armored Infantry Battalion, 1st Armored Division||11th Constabulary Squadron
|-
|6th Armored Infantry Battalion, 1st Armored Division||12th Constabulary Squadron
|-
|91st Armored Field Artillery, 1st Armored Division||91st Constabulary Squadron
|-
|'''2nd Constabulary Regiment'''||
|-
|HQ & HQ Troop, 2nd Cavalry Group||HQ & HQ Troop, 2nd Constabulary Regiment
|-
|2nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron||2nd Constabulary Squadron
|-
|42d Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron||42nd Constabulary Squadron
|-
|66th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 4th Armored Division||66th Constabulary Squadron
|-
|'''3rd Constabulary Regiment'''
|-
|HQ & HQ Co., Combat Command A, 1st Armored Division||HQ & HQ Troop, 3rd Constabulary Regiment
|-
|37th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division||37th Constabulary Squadron
|-
|68th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 1st Armored Division||68th Constabulary Squadron
|-
|81st Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 1st Armored Division||81st Constabulary Squadron
|-
|'''5th Constabulary Regiment'''
|-
|HQ & HQ Co., 6th Tank Destroyer Group||HQ & HQ Troop, 5th Constabulary Regiment
|-
|8th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division||8th Constabulary Squadron
|-
|35th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division||35th Constabulary Squadron
|-
|474th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion||74th Constabulary Squadron
|- 
|'''6th Constabulary Regiment'''
|-
|HQ & HQ Troop, 6th Cavalry Group||HQ & HQ Troop, 6th Constabulary Regiment
|-
|6th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron||6th Constabulary Squadron
|-
|53rd Armored Infantry Battalion, 4th Armored Division||53d Constabulary Squadron
|-
|'''10th Constabulary Regiment'''
|-
|HQ & HQ Co., 10th Armored Group||HQ & HQ Troop, 10th Constabulary Regiment
|-
|13th Tank Battalion, 1st Armored Division||13th Constabulary Squadron
|-
|4th Tank Battalion, 1st Armored Division||72nd Constabulary Squadron
|-
|771st Tank Battalion||71st Constabulary Squadron
|-
|'''11th Constabulary Regiment'''
|-
|HQ & HQ Troop, 11th Cavalry Group||HQ & HQ Troop, 11th Constabulary Regiment
|-
|25th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 4th Armored Division||25th Constabulary Squadron
|-
|94th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 4th Armored Division||94th Constabulary Squadron
|-
|51st Armored Infantry Battalion, 4th Armored Division||51st Constabulary Squadron
|-
|'''14th Constabulary Regiment'''
|-
|HQ & HQ Troop, 14th Cavalry Group||HQ & HQ Troop, 14th Constabulary Regiment
|-
|10th Armored Infantry Battalion, 4th Armored Division||10th Constabulary Squadron
|-
|22nd Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 4th Armored Division||22nd Constabulary Squadron
|-
|27th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 1st Armored Division||27th Constabulary Squadron
|-
|'''15th Constabulary Regiment'''
|-
|HQ & HQ Troop, 15th Cavalry Group||HQ & HQ Troop, 15th Constabulary Regiment
|-
|15th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron||15th Constabulary Squadron
|-
|1st Tank Battalion, 1st Armored Division||1st Constabulary Squadron
|-
|14th Armored Infantry Battalion, 1st Armored Division||14th Constabulary Squadron
|-
|'''Special Troops, US Constabulary'''
|-
|97th Signal Battalion||97th Constabulary Signal Squadron
|-
|465th Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion||Constabulary School Squadron
|}

==Education and training==
Early in the planning stage the need for a Constabulary School became evident.<ref name=ACMH/> Those originally trained as artillery, engineers, and other fields needed to retrain as police.{{r|gott2005}}{{rp|v}} The school opened on 16 February 1946 at the former [[Ordensburg Sonthofen|Adolf Hitler School]] at [[Sonthofen]], to train a cavalry reconnaissance squadron as the teachers for future students.{{r|ziemke1975}}

The Constabulary trooper, it was seen, must know, not only the customary duties of a soldier, but also police methods, how to make arrests, and how to deal with a foreign population. A school was also needed to develop among the members of the Constabulary a spirit which would lift them towards the required high standards of personal appearance, soldierly discipline, and unquestioned personal integrity.  Sonthofen is in a winter sports area at the foot of the Allgau Alps. This citadel had been formerly used as a [[Nazism|Nazi]] school to train youthful candidates for positions of leadership in the Party. The curriculum for Constabulary officers and noncommissioned officers included instruction in the geography, history, and politics of Germany. The technical and specialist training for the trooper included the theory and practice of [[criminal investigation]], police records, [[self-defense]], and the apprehension of wanted persons. The trooper's indoctrination in the mission of the Constabulary gave him a knowledge of his responsibilities and the functions of the Constabulary. The Constabulary School had standards comparable to those of Army Service Schools in the United States. A graduate of Sonthofen was qualified, not only to perform his duties, but also to serve as an instructor in his unit. By the end of 1946, 5,700 officers and enlisted personnel had been graduated.<ref name=ACMH/>{{r|gott2005}}{{rp|15}}

A Trooper's Handbook was written to cover the basic rules to be followed by him in the execution of his duties. To prepare this manual, the Constabulary obtained the services of Colonel [[J. H. Harwood]], formerly [[Rhode Island State Police|State Police Commissioner of Rhode Island]].<ref name=ACMH/>{{r|gott2005}}{{rp|15}}

The training program, as originally planned, aimed at the progressive development of the Constabulary so as to attain a common standard of efficiency throughout the organization. 1 July 1946 was set as the date upon which the Constabulary would become operational and, in preparation for that day, the training program was divided into three phases. During the first phase, prior to 1 April, attention was concentrated on the training of cadre and on the establishment of regimental and squadron headquarters so that the Constabulary would be prepared to receive the approximately 20,000 men expected to fill the ranks. During this phase, the emphasis from the point of view of control by the main headquarters was shifted from the squadron to the regiment, since each of the latter directed three of the former. The second phase, between 1 April and 1 June, was a period of intensive training in the duties of both individuals and units. The final phase was planned as on-the-job training during June. The last phase, however, was not completed because of delay in receiving reinforcements.<ref name=ACMH/>{{r|gott2005}}{{rp|15}}

The Constabulary became operational on 1 July 1946 as scheduled, despite the fact that its training program had not been completed. Changes in the redeployment rules caused the loss within a few weeks of 8,000 troopers, 25 percent of the total strength. During the first two months of operations 14,000 men, or 42.7 percent of the total strength, were lost through redeployment. The replacement and training task at that time were staggering. To make matters worse, there was a critical shortage in the Constabulary of junior officers during the late summer of 1946. This delayed the Constabulary in attaining the desired standards in discipline and operations, and was the cause of many changes in operational techniques.<ref name=ACMH/>{{r|gott2005}}{{rp|15-16}}

Despite all of these difficulties, the Constabulary attained its goal of selecting high caliber personnel. The main reason for seeking troopers of high caliber and for giving them higher ratings than are available in other military organizations was the realization that the Constabulary was only as good as the individual trooper. Small groups of two or three troopers operated far from their headquarters and were empowered with unusual authority in matters of arrest, search, and seizure. In conducting their daily duties, they faced many temptations, such as those offered by persons willing to pay almost any price for immunity after crossing the border, or for illegal concessions in the black market. Maintaining high standards in the Constabulary was all the more difficult because most of the combat veterans had gone home and had been replaced by men in the age group of 18 to 22 years.<ref name=ACMH/> To avoid the black market, troopers did not bring money or watches on patrol and were searched on return. Harmon spent most of his time in the field, inspecting each of the constabulary's 27 squadrons at least once a month.{{r|gott2005}}{{rp|16-17}}

==Mission==
[[File:US Constabulary operation.jpg|thumb|Constabulary operation near the Czechoslovak border in July 1946]]
The mission of the United States Constabulary was to maintain general military and civil security, to assist in the accomplishment of the objectives of the United States government in Germany, and to control the borders of the United States Zone.<ref name=ACMH/>

The Constabulary set up a system of patrols throughout the entire area and along the borders. The territory to be patrolled had an area of over 40,000 square miles (100,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) and included nearly 1,400 miles of international and interzonal boundaries, extending from Austria in the South to the British Zone in the North, and from Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Zone in the East to the Rhine River and the French Zone in the West. Approximately the area of Pennsylvania in size, the United States Zone of Occupation in Germany had similar contours, with flat lands, hills, mountains, and forests, crisscrossed by many rivers and streams. More than sixteen million German people lived in this area, and it included many cities of considerable size. The entire Zone was covered by a network of roads, while here and there were the Autobahnen—the four-lane express highways.<ref name=ACMH/>

==Operations==
[[File:Constabulary map.png|thumb|left|Constabulary map of U. S. zone of occupation in Germany]]
At first the Constabulary tried to patrol everywhere in the Zone.<ref name=ACMH/>{{r|gott2005}}{{rp|18}}

Troopers traveled on country roads, through small villages, over narrow and rough mountainous roads. They moved up and down the streets of large cities like [[Munich]] and [[Stuttgart]], and of the smaller ones like [[Fritzlar]], [[Weiden in der Oberpfalz|Weiden]], [[Hof, Bavaria|Hof]], and [[Passau]]—names which became as familiar to the Constabulary trooper as Pittsburgh, Akron, Richmond, Clay Center, and Abilene. Wherever patrols operated, they were in constant communication by radio or telephone with their platoon or troop headquarters, which were in turn linked in a chain of communications reaching up to Constabulary Headquarters. The telephone lines used by the Constabulary were, for the most part, those of the German system, although some military lines and equipment were also available. In addition to radio and telephone, the Constabulary was hooked up in a teletype system, which was the most comprehensive and effective communications network operated by the United States Army in Europe.<ref name=ACMH/>{{r|gott2005}}{{rp|18-19}}

In the performance of their mission, Constabulary patrols visited periodically the German mayors ([[Bürgermeister]]), German police stations, United States investigating agencies, and other military units in their areas. They were always prepared to assist any one or all of these. Like the State police units in the United States, Constabulary patrols worked closely with the municipal, rural, and border police, even though the German police were part of the administration of an occupied country. The Constabulary troopers became acquainted with the local policemen, received reports from them of what occurred since the last visit, and worked out with them methods of trapping criminals and of forestalling possible disturbances.<ref name=ACMH/>{{r|gott2005}}{{rp|18}}

As they roamed their beat in their yellow and blue striped jeep, each pair of Constabulary troopers was usually accompanied by a German policeman who rode in the back seat. The German policeman knew some English and the troopers were trained at the Constabulary school to understand a number of German phrases useful in police work. If the patrol investigated a disturbance in a German home, the troopers stood by while the German officer made the arrest. If they apprehended suspected [[displaced person]]s outside their camp, the troopers again stood by while the German policeman handled the situation. If the offender was an American or Allied soldier or civilian, the troopers made the arrest. This procedure built up the prestige of the new German police in the eyes of their own people.<ref name=ACMH/>{{r|gott2005}}{{rp|18}}

Border control was an important element in the security of the United States Zone. On 1 July 1946, the Constabulary replaced the troopers of the [[1st Infantry Division (United States)|1st]], [[3rd Infantry Division (United States)|3d]], and [[9th Infantry Division (United States)|9th Infantry Division]]s at the many static control posts along the borders. At these border posts, often in isolated locations, Allied soldiers met and exchanged greetings across the red and white barricades as they performed their duties of customs inspection, passport control, and law enforcement. During the second half of 1946, 120 border posts employing 2,800 Constabulary troopers turned back from the border over 26,000 undocumented transients. An additional 22,000 illegal crossers were apprehended by patrols within the ten-mile (16&nbsp;km) border zone and turned over to military government. As the patrols of the Constabulary increased, illegal crossings showed a downward trend because travelers became aware of the regulations and the effectiveness of the Constabulary in their enforcement.<ref name=ACMH/>{{r|gott2005}}{{rp|16, 24-26}}

The constabulary also provided security for Eisenhower's visit to Germany during his time as [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army]]. For the [[Currency Reform of 1948]], constabulary forces escorted the new [[Deutsche Mark]] to [[Deutsche Bank]] in Hamburg. Twenty constabulary teams destroyed 766 former German military installations through August 1948.{{r|gott2005}}{{rp|29}}

==Modernization==
As a result of continuous study of crime statistics, emphasizing the location and time of commission, the patrolling of the interior areas of the American Zone was modified so as to provide for more frequent visits to disorderly areas than to the relatively quiet localities.<ref name=ACMH/>

The potential sources of trouble were judged to be, not in rural areas where peasants gazed in wonder at Constabulary patrols, but in areas where large urban populations scrambled among ruins for food and for jerry-built shelter. Here the patrols, passing every two hours, found that they were missing the real disturbances. Night reports of holidays and weekends told of assaults, robbery, and other serious crimes being perpetrated, but too often the Constabulary was not on the spot to act. Operating procedures were changed to provide for concentration on the high-incident areas at critical times. In large cities, tanks, armored cars, and jeeps of the Constabulary paraded in the streets in considerable numbers to show the Germans that the Americans meant business, and were properly trained and equipped to meet emergencies.<ref name=ACMH/>

==Troopers' lives==
As the Constabulary trooper became accustomed to his duties, he gained more confidence and self-assurance. He possessed a thorough knowledge of police functions; he learned not to abuse his authority. No situation seemed insoluble. Consequently, two or three men could answer a call for assistance where formerly a section or more had gone out.<ref name=ACMH/>

In the ''[[Kaserne]]'' the trooper had the recreational facilities and comforts which constituted his home life in Germany—Service Men's Clubs with their snack bars and entertainments, motion pictures, American Red Cross facilities, and trans-Atlantic telephone service. The trooper whose family lived in a military community found living and recreation within his means. All members of the Constabulary and their families had the possibility of wide-ranging travel in Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Italy.<ref name=ACMH/>{{r|gott2005}}{{rp|17-18}}

During the first six months of its activities the Constabulary made 168,000 patrols in jeeps, tanks, and armored cars, and on horseback and on foot. Its troopers traveled on these patrols more than five million miles, mostly in jeeps. The mileage covered by the vehicles of the United States Constabulary was equivalent to nine vehicles circling the earth every twenty-four hours. The mileage covered by foot patrols was equivalent to circling the globe once each week. The liaison airplanes of the Constabulary flew more than 14,000 hours on 11,000 missions during the first six months' period.<ref name=ACMH/>

In 1946, the Constabulary made many swoop raids, known officially as "check and search operations," against displaced persons' and refugees' camps and the German population. No raids were made unless requested by the [[United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration]], military commanders, military government, or investigative agencies which had reason to suspect black-market or subversive activities. The trooper operating in the municipalities was a deterrent to the individuals and groups who were the mainstay of the black market. In six months, 2,681 black-market transactions and 173 subversive acts were uncovered in Constabulary operations.<ref name=ACMH/>{{r|gott2005}}{{rp|19-24}}

The Constabulary assisted military government in the reorganization and development of the German police force. The Constabulary realized that its task would be greatly simplified with an increase in the strength and efficiency of the German police, a rise in the self-confidence of German police officers, and a gain in their prestige in the eyes of the civilian population. The ties between the two law-enforcement agencies steadily became stronger. The Constabulary left the less important matters in the hands of the German police and concentrated more and more on the apprehension of major criminals and [[black market]]eers. Eventually, the United States Constabulary played mainly the role of adviser and supporter, ready to assist the German police on call.<ref name=ACMH/>

==Equipment==
From the beginning, the Constabulary set high standards for itself.<ref name=ACMH/>

===Vehicles===
The troopers were selected from the best soldiers available, and it was desired that all of them be volunteers. They were to be trained as both soldiers and policemen. They were to operate in an efficient, alert manner calculated to inspire confidence and respect in all persons they met, whether Germans, Allies, or Americans. Next to its need for well-qualified men, the Constabulary depended most, for success in its mission, upon its system of communications and upon vehicles suited to the needs of the job and to the condition of the German roads. Better radio equipment was being furnished at the end of 1946, though it was not yet of the standard of that used by [[State Police]] and [[Highway Patrol]] forces at home. The German telephone system, hampered by a lack of spare parts, was not in good condition. The [[Willys MB|jeep]], while excellent for combat, did not prove to be the best vehicle for Constabulary patrol work. There were far too many accidents and some of them were undoubtedly due to defects in the design of the jeep with reference to the road conditions encountered. The jeep's best points were that it had the power and the sturdiness to travel German roads, then in a bad state of repair. If the roads were better maintained, the sedan would be a more satisfactory patrol vehicle.<ref name=ACMH/> The Constabulary also made use of the [[M8 Greyhound]] [[Armored car (military)|armoured car]] and [[M24 Chaffee]] [[light tank]].

To maintain its mobility, the Constabulary waged a constant struggle to overcome deficiencies in its transportation facilities. The vehicles originally issued to the Constabulary, numbering approximately 10,000, were taken from the large concentrations of combat motor vehicles left behind by units returning to the United States for demobilization. Many of these vehicles were already worn out in the campaign and many others had deteriorated in disuse. The original condition of the vehicles placed a severe test upon the Constabulary which, at the time it was inaugurated, had no service elements.<ref name=ACMH>{{ACMH|url=http://www.history.army.mil/reference/cstb46.htm|article=Constabulary History}}</ref>

===Weaponry===
The standard shoulder weapons of the Constabulary included the .30-06 cal [[M1 Garand]] rifle, [[M1 carbine|.30-cal M1/M2 carbines]], and .45-cal [[Thompson submachine gun|M1/M1A1Thompson submachine gun]] or [[M3 submachine gun|M3 grease gun]]. Additionally, each Constabulary member was issued an [[M1911 pistol|M1911A1 .45 pistol]]. The standard 13-man (reconnaissance) patrol had seven rifle and five sub-machine gun armed men.

==Strength==
{{prose|section|date=January 2017}}
The US Constabulary consisted of up to 38,000 men organized into:

* Headquarters, United States Constabulary,
**Located first at [[Bamberg]] then moved to [[Stuttgart]].
* Three Brigades,
**1st, 2nd and 3rd
* 10 Regiments,
** 1st through 3rd and 5th through 9th, assigned to the brigades.
** The 4th Regiment, an independent unit with:
***Two squadrons in [[Austria]] and
***One squadron in [[West Berlin]].
Controlling:
** Thirty Squadrons.
***Each battalion-size squadron had five (at first) and then later on only four company-size troops.

==Disbanding==
The postwar crime rate among German civilians was very low, sometimes so low that it disturbed the military government. Most incidents involved the black market, theft of food and firewood, and occasional threats and very rare attacks against soldiers or their girlfriends. Displaced persons were a larger source of criminality; American public sympathy gave them almost total freedom during late 1945, causing the military government in early 1946 to reimplement controls and guards in DP camps. As new, insufficiently trained soldiers replaced the massive outflow going home in [[Operation Magic Carpet]], by March 1946 Americans were the largest cause of trouble.{{r|ziemke1975}}

By the Constabulary's formal establishment in 1946, the German internal forces' ability to maintain law and order had improved. As a possible war with the Soviet Union grew, by 1947 the constabulary increased its tactical training under new commanding general [[Withers Burress]]. Three of the nine constabulary regiments reequipped as armored cavalry units during the [[Berlin Airlift]]; while the others retained their policing mission, they increasingly retrained for combat and relocated to the border. In 1950 Constabulary headquarters was disabanded and personnel reassigned to Seventh Army. Remaining units reorganized into armored cavalry; their removal in 1952 formally ended the United States Constabulary.{{r|gott2005}}{{rp|26-27}} Many of the Constabulary troopers returned home and joined local and [[state police]] forces.

As the perception of the threat to border security changed from one of criminal activity to a potential invasion by the Soviet Army, the border operations mission along the Soviet zones in Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Austria was taken over by armored cavalry units of the U.S. Army.<ref name="gott2005">{{Cite book |last=Gott |first=Kendall D. |url=https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Books/CSI-Press-Publications/World-War-II/ |title=Mobility, Vigilance, and Justice: The US Army Constabulary in Germany, 1946-1953 |publisher=Combat Studies Institute Press |year=2005 |series=Global War on Terrorism, Occasional Paper |location=Fort Leavenworth, Kansas |format=PDF |id=OP 11 |access-date=2025-07-13}}</ref>{{rp|27}}

While the Constabulary did not have a direct successor, its duty of close cooperation with German authorities is now maintained by Military and Civilian Police Officers of the U.S. Armed Forces. A strong working relationship continues to exist today between German Police Forces and United States Forces Europe Police who operate out of U.S. military installations throughout Germany. Joint patrols involving U.S. Military Police, U.S. Army Civilian Police, and local German Police are still relatively commonplace throughout towns near U.S. military installations in Germany. These patrols are directed at enhancing the safety and security of military and German communities by instilling a culture of mutual trust and cooperation between U.S. and German Police forces.

A small monument to the U.S. Constabulary was erected in 2008 on [[Patch Barracks]] in Germany.<ref>[http://www.stripes.com/news/monument-unveiled-for-u-s-constabulary-1.85211 S&S Article]</ref>

==See also==
*[[Military police]]
*[[Constabulary]]
*[[Philippine Constabulary]]
*[[Gendarmerie]]
*[[4th Armored Division (United States)]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Robert Perito, ''Where is the Lone Ranger When We Need Him?'', outlines a proposal for integrating military and civilian personnel to form a "U.S. force for stability" that would become part of a U.S. intervention force.

==External links==
* [http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/constab-ip.html The U.S. Constabulary in Post-War Germany (1946-52)(USACMH)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210122238/http://history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/constab-ip.html |date=10 February 2009 }}
* [http://usconstabulary.com/ United States Constabulary Association homepage]
* [http://www.usarmygermany.com/Units/USConstabulary/HQ%20Con%20profile.htm A United States Constabulary page]
* [http://cgsc.leavenworth.army.mil/carl/download/csipubs/gott_mobility.pdf US Army Command and General Staff College PDF article] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051129140839/http://cgsc.leavenworth.army.mil/carl/download/csipubs/gott_mobility.pdf |date=29 November 2005 }}
* [http://cgsc.cdmhost.com/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/p4013coll3&CISOPTR=714 US Army Command and General Staff College PDF article on the establishment on use of a modern USC] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070113220254/http://cgsc.cdmhost.com/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/p4013coll3&CISOPTR=714 |date=13 January 2007 }}
* [http://www.allacademic.com//meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/0/7/1/2/5/pages71258/p71258-1.php Chapter 3 Constabularies Riding Through History of Elusive Peace: U.S. Constabulary Capabilities in the Post-Cold War World by Tammy S. Schultz]{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

[[Category:Allied occupation of Germany]]
[[Category:Military history of Germany]]
[[Category:Border guards]]
[[Category:Military police agencies of the United States]]
[[Category:Military police of the United States Army]]
[[Category:United States military in Germany]]
[[Category:Defunct gendarmeries]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1946]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1952]]