I'm 17 and I want to become a police officer with a big or medium city police department. I don't want to go to college unless I really have to. I'm thinking about joining the Army to be an MP. Is this a good idea or will it not help me that much? I know it is a big commitment. My mom is really against me joining the Army.

I have 2 friends that are military police. They both like it very much, and seem to be very proud of it. I think it would help you. I was in the Army for 4 years, but not military police.

I was an MP years ago. I had a pretty good gig. I was stationed in Germany for most of my enlistment. I say go for it!

My last job for the Army was teaching the MP School,,, I hate to say it but a lot of civilian PD's don't really count MP's as experience,,, I know the Army needs MP's as there is a shortage,,, whatever you decide good luck to ya

As mentioned above a lot of law enforcement agencies do not count MP as experience because MP and civilian law enforcement are pretty different. If you become an MP escpecially now you WILL be here in afghanistan at least twice in a five year enlistment. Down here in Afghanistan we try and focus on training ANP (afghan police) but a lot of times we help out infantry and cav scouts. With all the fighting going on we tend to just be infantry out here. If you are looking for an altenartive to being a police officer this really isn't the time to be an MP. We are more combat oriented now. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info.

What about Air Force Security Forces? Are they any different? If so, in what ways?

Hunter

I have been USAF Security Forces for 12 years. There is not much difference between MPs of the different branches as far as the law enforcement aspect goes. The big difference between the USAF and all the other branches is that the USAF also trains you on air base defense and resource protection. Resource protection includes: high priority aircraft and facilities, dignitarys, and, in some cases, nuclear weapons. In recent years, we have taken on some of the same duties as the Army. Going "outside the wire" and other such missions in Iraq and Afghanistan have become commonplace. This is USAF Security Forces in a nutshell. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Being an MP can be an awesome job depending on where you are stationed

I was an MP in Germany back in the late 80s. I liked it. It gave me some actual law enforcement experience. We did actual patrol work mostly.

If you're not going to go to college, you should join the military There is too much competition out there that have college degrees. You want something that gives you a step up on the competition