As the Army's primary criminal investigative organization and DoD's premier investigative organization, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (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.