[1] 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.

In September 1945, the G-2 Division of 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.

At the end of October 1945, General 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.

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.

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 jeeps and one armored car serving as a command vehicle and as support in case of emergency.

[citation needed] To create a high morale in the Constabulary as quickly as possible, elements of the 1st and 4th Armored Divisions and certain cavalry groups were assigned to form the basis for the new organization.

[1] 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.

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.

[1] 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.

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.

To prepare this manual, the Constabulary obtained the services of Colonel J. H. Harwood, formerly State Police Commissioner of Rhode Island.

[1] 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.

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.

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.

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.

They moved up and down the streets of large cities like Munich and Stuttgart, and of the smaller ones like Fritzlar, Weiden, Hof, and Passau—names which have become as familiar to the Constabulary trooper as Pittsburgh, Akron, Richmond, Clay Center, and Abilene.

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.

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.

[1] 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.

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.

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.

All members of the Constabulary and their families had the possibility of wide-ranging travel in Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Italy.

[1] 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.

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 marketeers.

Eventually, the United States Constabulary played mainly the role of adviser and supporter, ready to assist the German police on call.

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.

[3] 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.