Mission
As the Army's primary criminal investigative organization and DoD's premier investigative organization, CID is responsible for conducting criminal investigations in which the Army is, or may be, a party of interest.
Headquartered at Quantico, Virginia and operating throughout the world, CID Special Agents conduct criminal investigations that range from death to fraud, on and off military reservations and when appropriate, with local, state and other federal investigative agencies.
CID supports the Army through the deployment, in peace and war, of highly trained Special Agents and support personnel, the operation of a certified forensic laboratory, a protective services unit, computer crimes specialists, polygraph services, criminal intelligence collection and analysis and a variety of other services normally associated with law enforcement activities.
CID's mission is the same in both the installation and battlefield environments; however, CID’s traditional roles are expanded once deployed to the battlefield or to a contingency operation. CID’s advanced theater operations often include mentoring local national investigators and police in developing the rule of law, conducting site exploitation and recovery of forensic and biometric evidence and developing criminal intelligence. CID also provides logistics security and conducts protective service and force protection operations. During battlefield operations, CID’s criminal investigations can include war crimes, anti-terrorism and crimes against coalition forces and host nation personnel. Investigating these complex criminal scenarios allows combatant commanders to take the fight to the enemy and most importantly, save lives.
For information on CID's history, click here.
Primary Mission Requirements:
- Investigate serious crime
- Conduct sensitive/serious investigations
- Collect, analyze and disseminate criminal intelligence
- Conduct protective service operations
- Provide forensic laboratory support
- Maintain Army criminal records
Additional Mission Requirements:
- Logistics security (From the manufacturer to the soldier on the battlefield)
- Criminal intelligence (Develop countermeasures to combat subversive activities on the battlefield)
- Criminal investigations (Expanded to include war crimes and in some cases crimes against coalition forces and host nation personnel)
- Protective service operations (Protects key personnel on and off the battlefield)
For a more detailed account of the CID mission click here.