The Adjutant General's Corps was formed on 1 April 1992 and its sole task is the management of the Army's most precious resource, its soldiers. 

The Corps absorbed the functions of six existing smaller corps; the Royal Military Police, the Royal Army Pay Corps, the Royal Army Educational Corps, the Royal Army Chaplains Department, the Army Legal Corps and the Military Provost Staff Corps.

The Corps is organised into four branches, Staff and Personnel Support (SPS), Provost (PRP), Educational and Training Services (ETS) and Army Legal Services ALS).

During early 2006 the AGC consisted of over 6,800 officers and soldiers as follows:

The role of the SPS Branch is to ensure the efficient and smooth delivery of personnel administration to the Army. This includes support to individual officers and soldiers in units, by processing pay and Service documentation, first line provision of financial, welfare, education and resettlement guidance to individuals and the provision of clerical skills and information management, to ensure the smooth day-to-day running of the unit or department.

AGC(SPS) officers are employed throughout the Army, in direct support of units as Regimental Administrative Officers or AGC Detachment Commanders. They hold Commander AGC(SPS) and SO2 AGC(SPS) posts in district/Divisional and Brigade HQs and fill posts at the Adjutant General's Information Centre (AGIC) and general staff appointments throughout the Army headquarters locations.

AGC(SPS) soldiers are employed as Military Clerks in direct support of units within the AGC Field Detachments, in fixed centre pay offices, in headquarters to provide staff support and in miscellaneous posts, such as embassy clerks, as management accountants or in AGIC as programmer analysts.

The principal functional tasks of AGC(SPS) personnel on operations are:

a. The maintenance of Field Records, including the soldier's Record of Service, casualty reporting and disciplinary documentation.

b. Clerical and staff support to Battlegroup HQs and independent Sub Units such as Engineer and Logistic Squadrons.

c. The issue of pay and allowances to personnel

d. The maintenance of Imprest Accounts (the MoD Public Accounts) which involves paying local suppliers for services, receiving cash from non-Army agencies such as NAAFI and Forces Post Office receipts.

e. The deployment of a Field Records Cell which co-ordinates all personnel administration in the field.

f. AGC(SPS) personnel play a full part in operational duties by undertaking such tasks as local defence, guards and command post duties. In addition, Command Officers can employ any soldier in their unit as they see fit and may require AGC(SPS) personnel to undertake appropriate additional training to allow them to be used in some specialist roles specific to the unit, or as radio operators or drivers.

Currently, about 66 per cent of AGC(SPS) soldiers are based in UK, 23 per cent in Germany and 11 per cent elsewhere. The majority, currently 70 per cent are serving with field force units, with the remaining 30 per cent in base and training units or HQs, such as the MoD.

Members of AGC(SPS) are first trained as soldiers and then specialise as Military Clerks. AGC(SPS) officers complete the same military training as their counterparts in other Arms and Services, starting at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. They are required to attend all promotion courses, such as the Junior Command and Staff Course, and to pass the standard career exams prior to promotion to the rank of Major.

THE ROLE OF THE PROVOST BRANCH

The Provost Branch was formed from the formerly independent Corps of Royal Military Police (RMP) and the Military Provost Staff Corps (MPSC). Although they are no longer independent, they are still known as the AGC (PRO) and AGC (MPS) thus forming the two parts of the Provost Branch.

To provide the police support the Army requires,  the RMP has the following functions:

a. Providing operational support to units in the field.

b. Preventing crime.

c. Enforcement of the law within the community and assistance with the maintenance of discipline.

d. Providing a 24-hour response service of assistance, advice and information.

Operational support includes advising commanders and the staff who produce the operational movement plans. RMP traffic posts are deployed along the main operational movement routes and provide a constant flow of traffic information regarding the progress of front line troops and the logistical re-supply. 

RMP units, with a vehicle-to-man ratio of 1:3 are also a valuable force for the security of rear areas. In addition there is a highly trained RMP close protection group that specialises in the protection of high-risk VIPs.

The RMP provides the day-to-day police support for both the Army in the UK and dependents and MoD civilians overseas. RMP units are trained and equipped to deal with the most serious crimes. The Special Investigation Branch (SIB) operates in a similar fashion to the civilian CID.

AGC(MPS) staff recruited from within the Army are carefully selected for the leadership, management and training skills necessary to motivate the predominantly young offenders with whom they work. The majority of AGC(MPS) personnel are located in the Military Corrective Training Centre (MCTC) at Colchester, where offenders, sentenced by military courts are confined.

The AGC(ETS) Branch has the responsibility of improving the efficiency, effectiveness and morale of the Army, by providing support to operations and the developmental education, training, support and resettlement services that the Army requires to carry out its task.

ETS personnel provide assistance at almost all levels of command, but their most visible task is the manning of Army Education Centres wherever the Army is stationed.  At these centres, officers and soldiers receive the educational support necessary for them to achieve both civilian and military qualifications.

The AGC(ALS) Branch advises on all aspects of service and civilian law that may affect every level of the Army from a General to Private soldiers. Members of the branch are usually qualified as solicitors or barristers.