Thinking 0083. Need input from the Pro's

[gcso42]

OK, I have read almost every thread here about 0083 jobs. And I'm more confused then when I started. This is the deal. I am a 25 year veteran LEO and Firefighter/EMT/Arson Investigator in Georgia. I have worked for the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Department and Gwinnett County Fire Department the entire time. (close to a million in population) I am currently a Captain in the Jail responsible for about 100+ sworn and civilian staff on my shift. I am also a Entry Team Leader for the Tactical Medics on our SWAT Team (15 years) and have served as Deputy, Sergeant and Lieutenant in our Warrant/Criminal/Fugitive Division (13 years of field experience.) I also have P.O.S.T certifications Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Supervision, Management, Executive, Instructor and Firearms Instructor. And I have two and a half years of college w/no degree. I am now 50 and eligible for my pension. However I'm not ready to be put out to pasture just yet. (maybe at 65)

I was thinking of Kings Bay Naval Police since I own property in Brunswick, Ga. My questions are:
Am I too old for realistic consideration?
Can I qualify for higher than GS-5?
What is advancement like for 0083 positions? (I'm a Leadership kinda guy)
Can you transfer to other 0083 jobs within the system?
How in God's name do they figure pay scales?
Is King's Bay a good agency?

From everything that I have read I pretty much get the Security/Police function and no off duty carry. I honestly believe that will change in time though. I do have concerns about pool guns for LEO's. The idea of that is insane.

I know that this is a long *** post for my first one but I only know one way to do things. Wide open! Thanks in advance for advice or criticism.

[QuietPro]

Hello and welcome. I'll try and offer the insights that I can, although you will find 0083's here with far more experience than I.
1. No, not too old. We have plenty of guys in the mid to late 40's and even a couple in their early 50's at my base. That's one of the reasons retirees enjoy 0083 work; none of the "age 37" limitation crap. And I'll say it again, that rule is pure crap.
2. Yes, you can qualify higher IF the job announcement says that your top out grade is higher. Read over the announcement; if it only says the grade considered is GS-5, then you don't have much of a range. Most of the DoD agencies start out at GS-5,6, and a few that offer GS-7. Ensure your federal resume is well polished and written out; that largeley determines what grade fleet will approve you for.
3. Yes, you can "transfer" although in the Feds it doesn't work like a regular transfer. You become a status candidate when you are hired on, and you will have opportunities for Fed jobs not open to the general public. Being a veteran really, really helps. Vets tend to get priority over non-vets due to the 5 and 10 point preference. However, you did not tell us your vet status.
4. Congress sets the pay for Federal workers. You are paid according to the GS scale (think white collar), and certain cities in the U.S. rate higher pay due to cost of living. Those tables can all be found on OPM's website, and all over the internet. I don't think your particular area qualifies for a higher pay, though.....
5. I'm a USMC Police Officer, so I can't really tell you about King's Bay. There are Navy DoD officers on this forum, so they may be able to help you out. I hope I shed a little light for you. Gotta run to work now. Good luck in your process, and be safe!

[Bearcat357]

Am I too old for realistic consideration?

No....Lots of retired guys working these types of jobs....

Can I qualify for higher than GS-5?

You might but the issue becomes what GS level the base is hiring at. If they are hiring at a GS-05.....thats it. You might get some wiggle room on step grades...

What is advancement like for 0083 positions? (I'm a Leadership kinda guy)

All depends on the installation. Most have all ranks from Patrolman up to Chief....with some bases having DON Police Officers working as Traffic/K9/Investigations/Crime Prevention/etc.... Hell, Fort Hood Texas has folks on BMW Motorcycles.......

Can you transfer to other 0083 jobs within the system?

Yes. When openings become availabe, you can apply and go from there. Lots of times they have openings for a base for Agency Employees only....which means you are in the running for the position with others with in the agency....not the general population.

How in God's name do they figure pay scales?

http://www.opm.gov/oca/11tables/indexGS.asp If you look at it, it breaks it down by metro areas. If you do not fall in a metro area, you fall under all others for pay.....

Is King's Bay a good agency?

No clue....sorry...

I honestly believe that will change in time though.

Doubtful anytime soon. This has been an on-going battle for years and years. They just passed a new provision to LEO Safety Act and DOD bent over backwards to get enough legal opinion to say they don't qualify based on a few words......

I do have concerns about pool guns for LEO's. The idea of that is insane.

Not sure about the Navy but at least with the Army and AF, you are assigned a weapon and its yours unless they are short on weapons then you share. You just don't go in and have the armour toss you any old weapon. It's the one you went to the range with. Only place that I have seen share was very, very small posts.....

Good luck...

[orlandofed5-0]

I used to work in CNRSE (navy region where Kings Bay is). Kings Bay does not go higher than GS-05 for patrolman. Only Orlando had GS-06 patrolman.

As far as duties, you will be on patrol or the gate. You will more than likely attend the navy's academy @ Kings Bay after doing your in processing. Kings Bay has about 12 openings but is filling 5 right now.

[AZDesertRat]

As a former DON 0083, I'll chime in here too...

It is possible to come in higher than a GS-05, but very rare. In my five years with DON, I saw it only once, and it was a guy who had been working for the VA, and even then it was only at a GS-06. Like others have said, you can get a GS-05 step 10, if your resume and the agency allow it, but it is not an absolute.

You will have an assigned sidearm in the armory, with a pool of rifles and shotguns.

The pay is ok, or great for the amount of work they tend to expect from you. Kings Bay is however a Nuke facility, so you can expect lots more work in the area of Physical Security, especially in the sub-bays and weapon storage areas. Kings also has harbor patrol, but that was mainly a military mission. Like Orlando said, expect a mix of fixed post and "in the wire" patrol. As of 2008, most offenses on base of serious nature, other than UCMJ offenses minus DUI, were turned over to the local PD.

Even with all the issues working for DON has, it is a ok position to moonlight in while drawing a pension. Your age is not a major issue, as I have met lots of DON 0083's working well past their 60's. If you can perform the basic functions of the job, and dont question orders, you will do just fine in the DON.

[gcso42]

Thanks for the info

I appreciate all of the information. It has been extremely helpful.

[QuietPro]

RTR, unfortunately the USMC is under a hiring freeze right now for ALL civilians, emergency essential or not. This went into effect about 3 or 4 weeks ago. They've told us at roll call that they're not even going to hire to replace attrition for now. This freeze won't be lifted at least until the whole budget argument gets un-screwed. Unfortunately, everyone and their brother is taking aim at Federal employees right now as political targets of opportunity.....The best advice I could give you right now is this: If you're dead set on MCLB Albany, then keep your resume updated and active on C.H.A.R.T.; USAjobs is used to post announcement, but DoN and USMC do not pull resumes for announcement from USAjobs. They use C.H.A.R.T. Once I get word from higher that hiring is lifted, I'll spread the word around a bit on the forums.

Also, don't forget that the Army and A.F. are also hiring 0083's right now. Many of the A.F. jobs are only Term jobs though, so read the announcement over carefully. Good luck to you, bro.

[QuietPro]

^^^ Last word of advice: Don't forget to actually apply to each announcement by putting in for it by self nominating. Don't let your resume sit on USAjobs, C.H.A.R.T, or CPOL......you'll never hear a peep from anyone.

OK, I'm out for the day....See Yas!

[orlandofed5-0]

Navy (and Air force) HR is notoriously slow at doing ratings and getting people hired. As of this year once a list and has been certified and selections have been made they now have 80 days to get the canidate on board...