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[dcarnes]

Hello,

I am coming up on the time to decide what to do with my life.... I graduate this upcoming December from high school..
I have been talking to the Army, Marines, and Coast Guard about enlisting..
I am currently a Lieutenant in a local police explorer post, and have always wanted to get in LE. I want to do something LE-related in the military. I have heard horror stories about being a MP. My question is, is being a MP a good choice, and if it is not, what do you recommend?
I honestly do not really have any other jobs I take interests to unless it is LE related...


Thank you!

[Rasmblack]

I started out in the Air Force in LE. I strongly recommend it. If I were to do it all over again I would do the exact same thing. My dad was in the Army and always said that he would join the Air Force if he could start over. The training was pretty general since they only have a few months to train you LE for the whole military. It makes the transition from military to civilian harder since the military trains you one way and the civilian academy trains you another. I still use many techniques I learned in the military.

I had however, taken the ASVAB and scored well enough to be in LE and called the recruiter myself. I told him that I wanted LE and was not going to join unless I had it in writing. Recruiters will attempt to bend truths (tell you only the bad things about one job since most are trying to populate a certain job within the branch of service). If you know what you want and do some research on that subject then the recruiter will be less tempted. My recruiter just happened to be a dog handler and was happy to put it in writing. Some people I served with did NOT want to be a cop and complained about it the whole time. I, like you, had always wanted a career in LE and I found it easy getting into the field. Of course I was never in trouble and had not been pulled over until I was 26, well after I separated and was hired by my current department.

I wish you luck in whatever you decide. If joining the military is what you choose then I suggest you talk to people who are either in the branch and job you want to do or have just seperated. Many officers on here are vets and some are currently serving. There is even a forum on O.com just for military LE. If you want specifics feel free to pm me. I separated in '06 but not that much could have changed...

[PhilipCal]

From what I'm able to gather, the nature of MP duty has undergone substantial change since my active duty USMC days. Hard to believe, but that's been fifty years ago.

My recommendation to you is this. Should you enlist in any branch of the Armed Forces, do well in whatever MOS you're assigned. What is ALL important is that Honorable Discharge you receive at the completion of your military service.

I strongly urge you to continue your education while in the Armed Forces. Every branch has some great opportunities for you to do this. A certain amount of sacrifice and self discipline on your part will be required in order to do this, but it is doable.

[Item9]

I have a family member that's an MP in the Army. It's a different job, but there are some things that he tells me about that will help a future police career like tactics, training, mindset, etc.

However, you can set yourself up for success in any MO by demonstrating hard work, gaining promotions, training, certification, etc. I'm sure, like any other job, it's what you make of it. A slug is a slug, and a hard worker is a hard worker, no matter the field.

If you want my advice, pick a field that you will enjoy. Don't worry about it being LE related unless that's where you want to work. You'll still get your preference points for military, and your ambition will still show no matter what job you're doing. I'd rather have a motivated motor pool worker than a lazy MP working with me.

[just joe]

Do you realize the chances of doing LE work in the army are pretty slim? Very few MPs conduct Disciple, Law and Order functions. You could spend your entire tour standing guard at a nuke site.

[tanksoldier]

MP is ok, but any department that hires you after is going to teach you their way anyway.

I'd pick something you either think will be fun to do for a few years, something you can use if LE doesn't work out OR something ancillary that can be useful.

Infantry is traditional but combat engineer, psy ops, civil affairs, mechanic, legal admin, intelligence, counter-intel, interpreter, etc all have their uses.

[Gradient Shift]

I have heard from many police and military folks that some police departments can be a bit dubious towards hiring a former MP because they are concerned the person will have a "door kicker" mentality, and be a liability as military law, civilian law and how their police respond to things can be very different. I was actually talking to someone at the range last night about this, so it is actually a fresh topic for me.

Can someone who has experience higher up on the PD hiring food chain comment on this specifically? I have been curious how legitimate these claims are.

[tanksoldier]

departments can be a bit dubious towards hiring a former MP because they are concerned the person will have a "door kicker" mentality

...but they will hire former infantrymen?

What military MOS would they hire that ISN'T trained to be generally morevarressivevthan civilian law enforcement?

Try applying some critical thinking.

People have their biases, and that might be the excuse they give, but any agency with thatbpolicybisnt one you want to work for anyway.... Because they are stupid.