I hadn't been aware the USMC is divesting itself of integral law enforcement capability (i.e. Military Police).
As a former MP (and Watch Commander, i.e. I was the one in charge of everything during a shift) I have mixed feelings. Duh.
Traditionally USMC MPs did mostly gate and traffic duty during peacetime with a small "detective" unit (CID) to handle investigations of rapes, murders, etc. In wartime they do mostly traffic control, forward POW collection/control until they are shipped to a real POW camp, and work
VERY closely with Civil Affairs dealing with indigenous civilians (Civil Affairs doesn't begin to have the manpower needed). Unlike the US Army USMC MPs do not do route recon, convoy security, or much rear-area counter guerilla work (other then as a immediate fast reaction force to an incident since we're fully motorized and have our vehicles on hand not in a motor pool).
The gate guarding, passing out speeding tickets, and detective work can certainly be easily done by civilian security contractors. But that's what USMC MPs do when not training for their wartime tasks.
I guess the "Powers That Be" assume with electronic information dissemination traffic control is unnecessary as everyone always knows where they are and are going (as during Desert Storm when we had GPS ... which didn't work much of the time and most stuff was still good old map and compass). POW handling? Guess we'll just have to task a combat unit to that ... reducing the available combat strength on the front lines. Dealing with the local civilians ... Civil Affairs will just need another combat unit (with zero training/experience in what they're going to do) further reducing the combat strength on the front lines.
Each USMC Division has (had?) one MP company (vice the US Army Corps level MP Brigades, i.e. a battalion+ per division). But I guess apx. 600 former MPs (the entire number of MPs in the USMC) will be more useful elsewhere.
