Hey there! I'm 20yo MP in the Army Reserves at the moment. Things haven't gone quite so well in my civilian life, so I've sent up the papers to go active duty. There is a couple problems though. First, I'm told that the chances of me going active duty are very very low because the army reserves wants to keep its soldiers and the fact I haven't been in the reserves for even close to 2 years is a huge problem as well. 2ndly I've also been told that if I go active duty they will most likely want to re class me, which I simply will not do. Being an MP is really important to me. Because when I'm done with the military, being a civilian police officer is my dream and has been so ever since I was a small child. I need something to happen for me. Basically I'm wondering if there is something I could do Law Enforcement wise as an MP, even if it is only like 2 years or something. I know that our unit just got back from Iraq (they left before I joined so I couldn't go with them), and some of the guys who got back are on some type of special orders where they are going to spend the next couple of years as LE MP's at some Fort. Is there a way I could get on these type of orders? Are they reserved for soldiers who have been deployed, or just getting back from deployment or what? Is there a way I could actually get in contact with a Law Enforcement MP unit and talk to a commander or something about getting in their unit... I'm all about Law Enforcement, its my life, so if at all possible I would love to get a LE MP unit, not for fear of deployment, but simply put, I believe LE is what GOD wants me to do. Is there a back road or something I could take in order to accomplish this? If it is not possible at all well then of course I have no squabble with being a Combat MP which is what I currently am. But I assume there is someway some how that I could get the LE job, given my dedication, determination, I would make a great LE MP, is there anyway I could express this to someone who could help me out?
Well, the one thing you have not realized is that Law Enforcement is only part of a job of a MP.
I am a Reserve MP Officer (who is going Active Duty in October) and was just deployed to Iraq and came back in June 2009. Our mission was Detainee Operations which sucks. However, it is a mission that needs to be done. Please be advised also that if you are not doing DO, you would be doing convoy security which is also not exciting.
I hate to be negative, but you need to go back to your FM and look at the 5 mission tasks that MPs do. Law Enforcement is just one of many things that MPs do. If you want to go AD, then you need to expand your horizons and reclass. If you want to remain an MP, then stay in the Reserves so you can you call yourself a MP. Remember, Field Artillery and Infantry are performing MP tasks (and very well).
I hate to squash your dream, but you should realize that being an Army MP and a civilian law enforcement officer are really two different jobs.
Yes, I too enlisted as an MP thinking I would do LE duties more than others. Doesn't work that way. In three years probably did less than a couple of monthes doing LE. I don't count standing gate duty as LE. Spent the rest of my year in the 101st in the field. Be glad there are no nuke sites any more. A lot of older MP's pulled physical security duty back then. Did about 18 monthes of that too. If you want to make the military a career and do LE you could go CID. But you need to be top notch to get there.
Don't get me wrong I really enjoyed the combat support duties once I got into it. I learned good solid tactics as an MP. But the MP corp is nothing like an LE agency.
I will have to agree with everyone else, and have to say that the LE duties of an MP are not the main roles anymore. I am fresh out of training and I have been sent to Schofield Barracks in Hawaii to a combat support group. We still do the LE duties some here on the island, but most of the training we have done since being here has been combat structured. Personally I would rather do this side of the job, because to me it is alot exciting. The Army is chaning and the jobs are evolving into newer roles to adapt to the way we fight our wars.
MP's working as law enforcement officers are becoming quite rare, as most Forts have moved or they're in the process of moving to a civilian police force. I would recommend applying for one of these jobs if you would like to be a cop on a Fort, and stay in the reserves as an MP - or just move into this career. I know they pay well compared to most state level and below LE jobs. A few examples are, Rock Island Arsenal, Ft. Riley, and Ft. McCoy all have a civilian police force. Good luck!
I think the whole : "Active Duty will make you reclass" is pure Bravo Sierra, intended to make you not want to go Active Duty. Truth is, MPs in the Active side are always in short supply. If you want a mixture of LE And Combat Support, go to Germany. The posts there cannot be patrolled by civilians. They might have Armed Civilian Security Guards manning the gates, but, they do not patrol....Besides, Germany is an experience you should not miss out on. So, I say put in your paperwork. I would also see an Active Duty Recruiter.....they might be able to get your paperwork passed thru much quicker. Sounds like the unit is trying to hold onto you for a possible deployment.
