Welcome to the Military Policing and Justice Ethics Blog. This new feature of JusticeAcademy.org is specifically designed to provide a forum where members of the profession can address the contemporary issues of the day. This blog is hosted by Liz Cass. Her professional experience includes twenty years of service as a law enforcement and security professional with United States Navy. Liz’s academic achievement include a baccalaureate degree in fraud investigation, a Master of Science in criminal justice, and an MBA from Norwich University. She is a prolific author and her writings have been published in the Virginia College Journal of Law and Justice, the Justice Academy Journal, and she serves as a member of the Board of Governors. You can email her with your comments at [email protected]
Memorial Day – Not just about a 3-day weekend
When I was growing up Memorial Day to me meant a BBQ, a nice 3-day weekend, the end of the school year, finals, graduation, etc. Not once was I taught what it really meant. I saw the flags at the different gravesites at the cemetery, and thought it was for that died during WWII – I wasn’t wrong but that wasn’t the whole story. I fell among that generation where they stopped teaching Civics in high school and replaced it with something else. We learned about The Constitution, the Bill of Rights, WWII and other wars, but not the importance behind these things. I never learned until I enlisted and started reading for myself the importance of our Rights as Americans and the meaning behind Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, and Veteran’s Day. The ones that don’t quite get it, will be the ones that party hearty, drink all they can, eat all they can, etc. Most Vets you’ll see as a different lot, more somber than the rest. I haven’t done a BBQ or anything publically celebrating Memorial Day in a long time, with the exception of the local parade honoring those who gave their lives for our rights and our freedom. It is a sobering time for me, reflecting on the true meaning of the holiday, as I am sure it is for many others. I never say Happy Memorial Day because I know what the day means, but when someone, usually a civilian, wishes me a Happy Memorial Day, I don’t bother correcting them because I know they mean well.
School Security and Safety
Given the recent events concerning school safety, there are measures that should have been put in place right after the Columbine school shooting. There is a way to be proactive instead of reactive, but of course the question always comes up – Who would shoot up a school? Society views school as a safe place to be – who would want to hurt children? Children are off limits when it comes to violence of the world, or they should be. But everyone forgets the kid that gets bullied on a regular basis, and now has the help of TV and video games to help them succeed in their quest for revenge. Parents don’t think to lock up their guns at home – what for?? Front door is locked. No one ever thinks about the threat from being inside.
The safety of children should be paramount to all other things – we use weapons to guard against bank robbery, there are guns guarding a court house, there are countless private security guarding our politicians. Why are the children considered to be less important than any of these things? Time to take some of that money set aside for emergencies and take care of what is really important – our children.
Working with Juveniles
Even though as Military Police we primarily deal with active duty and reserve personnel, on occasion we do have to deal with dependent and/or civilian juveniles that are on base for one reason or another. When I was stationed at Portsmouth Naval Hospital there was a Pediatric Clinic there on the compound which meant kids were on base for appointments, or were there accompanying their parents at their appointment. Most minors were not allowed to roam the base without adult supervision, but on occasion they would go the small gift shop at the hospital to hang out while waiting for their parents. On one particular occasion, a handful of minors were accused to shoplifting from the gift shop. Unfortunately, the entrance the store and the store itself were very close so to take one step out of bounds the alarm would usually sound. Security was called to escort the minors back to the Security Office for safe keeping while the parents were located. The handling of minors can be a very touchy situation, especially since they are minors and you cannot question them about anything without an adult present. This case was not so serious in that no one had actually shop lifted anything from the shop but most adults are very mistrusting when it comes to unaccompanied minors. A warning was issued, but it was also a good lesson to those attached to the Security Department in the handling of minors and infractions committed by them.
Military Police Accountability
Military police, just like their counterpart the law enforcement professional, are accountable for their actions both on and off the job. Military police follow a different set of rules, the Uniform Code of Military Justice, than state or local police do, and it can be more severe depending on the infraction. Usually once a military police officer is charged with an infraction of the UCMJ they can no longer be a military police officer. Those local and state law enforcement officials that conduct themselves in a way that violates their policies might just receive a suspension or a reprimand but will not get kicked off the force.
There is a reason why the military is so strict when it comes to their police officers; we are expected to follow a stricter code of ethics and behavior than those of our civilian counterparts because our presence means something different. One of the big differences is that military police have jurisdiction wherever they are required as a presence; local and state law enforcement agencies do not have the same privileges outside the city/state they are sworn to serve and protect. We have more at stake politically than our counterparts.
Why I Joined the Military
There are so many reasons why I joined the military and retired after 20 years of being enlisted but to keep this short, I will say I basically joined for job security. When I graduated high school, I went to college – typical follow on after high school. But after my first year, there weren’t any more funds for me to continue so I moved back home. I took a bunch of temp jobs with the State, but was always “laid off” after 6 weeks so as not to violate the term “temporary employee”. There was always a chance of not being re-hired, which is not a good way to try and pay off student loans from college. My younger sister told me she felt the same about constantly getting laid off and tired of trying to find steady work and with our brother already in the military, it seems a logical choice to do the same and enlist. Once I’d joined, it was so easy just to stay in and do the job – the benefits were a bonus, but it was even nicer to know that as long as I towed the line and did what was expected of me, I would never be laid off. After a while, gaining seniority and getting promoted on a regular basis, plus doing a job I really loved, I was sad to retire after 20 years but it was time for something new. And I would do it all over again.
Rehabilitation of Personnel
One of the duties the Navy has, as with all the military branches, is helping officiate Captain’s Mast, also known as Article 15. These proceedings will either earn the individual time restricted to their quarters, or if a serious enough offense, time spent in the Brig. The Navy will give a sailor as many chances as necessary to become a viable part of the military, whether they get a reduction in their pay grade or spent time in Navy jail. The same with the Marine Corps and Army – they are all about rehabilitating their soldiers, regardless of how long it takes. They try to retain those that join given the amount of training received as they are a vital part of the military and would like very much to see them succeed. The Air Force is the only branch that will process you out once an airman has gone to the brig.
The Air Force is considered the elite of the military; the amount of training used on each airman is quite costly, and highly specialized. Most of your technical jobs are in the air force to include aircraft, cyber ops, cyber security, drones, etc. They can’t have someone with behavioral and personality issues at the controls of highly technical and expensive equipment. There are no non-technical jobs in the Air Force so they expect their personnel to act in a professional manner, and having someone incarcerated in the brig is not what they consider a good choice for the Air Force.
Key, Lock, and Access Control
One of the duties of the Security Department on naval shore facilities is Key, Lock, and Access Control. The purpose of this program is to control access to all buildings on a naval shore facility and maintain key control for reporting purposes. The Security Officer is the Key Control Officer, and a senior Petty Officer, or NCO, or in this case, myself, was the appointed Key Control Custodian and reported directly to the Key Control Officer. For each building, there were typically 4 sets of keys for each building; 2 sets for the building supervisor, 1 set for the Chief Duty Officer for after-hours access, and 1 set to the Security Office, also for after-hours access. There was usually a civilian or military member that could be contacted for after-hours access in the event of an emergency, but if not, the key access could be used.
The reason for this program was because military bases have certain buildings that possessed a certain security level and access to the building needs to be controlled. When I was stationed at Portsmouth Naval Hospital we had to write the Key, Lock, and Access Control Instruction for the new hospital that was being built, which was a large facility. Quite an undertaking on this particular task, but was successful. The Key, Lock, and Access Control program included both keys and keyless entries on certain sections that required an access card.
Leadership and Management
Some people think that leadership and management are the same, when in fact they are different. Great leaders can be good managers, but good managers will not always be leaders. Which is not a bad thing; one is meant to manage, the other lead. Leadership is the ability to set a new direction for a group of people; the leader is the one to lead from the front at all times and accept responsibility when the group goes astray. An effective leader motivates their personnel and ensures the job is accomplished the proper way and on time. Leadership has a more personal touch with their personnel and perhaps mentoring an individual if necessary.
Management maintains the group and the ideals once they have been put into place. I will be showing where these two have a place in not only the workplace, but can be used in everyday life. Leadership is not just about taking the lead and perhaps being looked at as the number one person on the team; leadership is also about accepting responsibility for those mistakes made and accepting the reprimands and moving on without taking it out on the team. Management doesn’t always have the personal touch that leadership does with a team or group of people. Management is about making sure the job gets done right and on time and perhaps the firing and hiring of personnel.
Accident Investigations
One part of being in a government agency is that whenever
there is an accident of any kind that agency is required to
conduct an investigation to see if there was any wrong doing
or foul play involved. Most accidents are just that – accidents.
Lately, there have been a few accidents occurring during
training exercises on various military bases throughout the
country. Even if the investigation reveals the fact that
everything was done right, and it was just an accident, it has to
be conducted for the record. Some investigations turn up a
manufacturing flaw, as in the case of the parachute that failed
during a training jump – the investigation exposed the fact that
the stitching was faulty and in turn the parachute failed to
deploy properly, resulting in the death of the individual that
made the jump.
Some investigations may reveal the fact that there was driver
error or pilot error in the event of a crash taking place with
government vehicles and equipment. Once the investigation is
complete and the results have been published to those that
have the need to know, usually there is a military-wide safety
stand-down if there was any unsafe procedures that took
place during the incident. If it is a manufacturing or design
flaw, that will be looked at and the appropriate changes made
so it doesn’t happen again.
Threat Types and Tactics
One of the things about military and law enforcement is that
the mentality never goes away. The saying goes, once a cop
always a cop, or once military always military, especially if you
were either one long enough. The one thing we had to change
was our way of thinking after the events of 9-11; we never
really knew another country want to do us harm. We were a
super power – no one messed with the US. Unfortunately,
9-11 saw a change to all that. The military had been training
for years on Threat Assessments, threat types, and the tactics
in which to deal with threats even before it became a question
in other agencies minds. The FBI took care of spying and the
selling of government secrets so no one else really thought about any other types of threats.
Sadly, with the events of 9-11, these threats made the country
wake up and become aware that we were a soft target, and
more agencies needed to realize other countries wished
us harm. We all banded together, shared the intel that the
military and FBI was privy to, and fought back. Unfortunately,
we are still fighting back against forces that would love to see
us eradicated. One must stay vigilant at all times in order to
stay perhaps a few steps ahead of the bad guys and keep our
country safe.
Humanitarian Assist
One of the things the we, the military, are also trained in
to assist in is humanitarian efforts. Given the recent events
in Houston, I recall when the ship I was formerly stationed
on, the USS Iwo Jima, another amphibious like the two that
are currently being deployed to Houston to assist with fallout
from Harvey, headed to New Orleans in ’05 to assist with
the fallout from Katrina. The military are great at rebuilding;
assisting with medical needs, food, water, shelter, etc.,
basically a ship that size is a floating city and can be used
until the city affected can regroup and get themselves back
on their feet and get services back up like water and
electricity.
It shows great camaraderie and solidarity when we are able to
help our own in these efforts to get their lives back online.
The police, fire fighters, and others are grateful they have
the extra hands as most military have been trained as law
enforcement, fire fighters, first responders, etc., and are able
to pretty much step into any situation and assist. Not to
mention activating a Seabee detachment to help put sand bags
in place to control the flooding to get people back into their
homes. The military is very versatile; we’re not just built for
war.
Advantages of Seniority
One of the drawbacks to becoming a Master at Arms in the
Navy is that you have to be a certain pay grade before you
can apply for the Joint Law Enforcement Academy in Texas.
The Navy believes you need to have enough seniority and
knowledge of the military to be able to recognize when
someone is violating a UCMJ code. You have to be at least
an E-5 in whatever rating you are currently working in before
applying to change rates from what you are to Master
at Arms. I was an E-5 working as a supply clerk at the time
of my transition, and had already been in the Navy 10 years.
The advantage to being a senior petty officer is that the Navy’s
code of ethics is already in instilled; you already know what is
right and what is wrong when someone violate a UCMJ article,
and you have enough common sense to recognize it when it is
happening. And given that we have that much seniority, we
aren’t usually questioned when taking someone aside to talk to
them to let them know what they have done or doing wrong,
enlisted and officer alike. It is done with the upmost respect
that can be afforded the individual in question. Now, due to
the needs of the Navy, they are sending junior sailors with
only 2 years in the Navy to the school in Texas. Luckily, it will
be a while before they are trusted with the same responsibility
as the senior enlisted in the rate.
Shipboard Safety
One of the best jobs I ever had as part of shipboard security
was also safety. While we had a Safety Department onboard,
there was only a crew of 4 enlisted personnel and along with
the Safety Officer conducted investigations into safety
mishaps. They also attended safety briefs concerning flight
operations and landing craft operations while on deployment
and other operational exercises. Due to the limited staffing
of the Safety Department, the Security Department onboard
the ship augmented staffing to help out with all operations.
We acted as Line Safety during small arms qualifications,
Flight Deck Safety during flight operations, Well Deck Safety
during landing craft operations, etc.
As shipboard security we were also in charge of crowd
control during ammunition movement from one armory to
another. Most naval vessels carry small arms ammunition
onboard for small arms qualification for members of ship’s
company. Instead of trying to obtain range time at a shore duty
facility, it was easier for conduct annual qualification during
underway periods. With everyone onboard, it was easy to get
everyone qualified to stand their security watches in a short
period of time with no interruption to the daily routine. The
military are quite versatile when it comes to job assignments;
a lot of what we do is OJT – on the job training – but it sticks
with you for the rest of your career.
Crowd Control
One of the many uses of military police is crowd control. Part
of our training is crowd/riot control, the latter being with
riot shield, helmets, and the use of force, if necessary. The first
part,crowd control, is used during formal military functions
or informal military assemblies. It is mostly used to check
service members to ensure military bearing is being kept
during both formal functions and assemblies, and to also
offer assistance to civilians during formal functions if theyhave been invited to attend.
The benefits to crowd control is to effectively maintain law
and order; making sure no one starts acting out or
being disrespectful while a guest speaker is getting a
message out to the troops. The downside is that because
we are busy with crowd control and keeping a watchful
eye on things while maintaining communication with those
on watch on the quarterdeck and Officer of the Deck,
we miss a lot of what is being said by the key note speaker.
However, things go smoothly if everyone pulls together and does their part.
Military Duties
There are so many functions that military police perform as
part of their duties and responsibilities that are quite easily
transferred to the civilian LEO sector. The core studies at the
Joint Law Enforcement Academy at Lackland AFB that I attended are very much the same as any state law
enforcement academy. The only thing we weren’t taught at
our academy are state and federal laws; we don’t have to
worry about writing a charge sheet for any one that has been
apprehended and charged with a UCMJ violation – that is the
responsibility of the Legal Department. But there are a lot of
functions military police perform that would not be covered by
the civilian LEO sector such as personal security escorts for
dignitaries; funds escort for Disbursing Officer to fill the ATMs
on base with money; escorting prisoners from the brig to the
legal department on base for either CO’s Mast or Courts
Martial.
I learned so many things while being a military police officer
while on active duty that would actually bring extra to my job
as civilian LEO because we are constantly learning both on and
off the job; things that aren’t even taught at the academy. The
academy gives you the bare bones of the job, but the real
experience is learning on the job while doing the job and
remembering your mistakes so you don’t make them again. We
get the chance to work with other state and federal agencies
on cases and majority of police departments do not get that
opportunity. Our military laws are very strict and exact; no one
is going to call their lawyer to get them out of whatever
situation they have gotten themselves into. I enjoyed the
uniformity and strictness of the job and the military.
Suspects, Victims, and Witnesses
They have the old saying “innocent until proven guilty” but
when it comes to criminal incidents sometimes it gets a bit
dodgy when trying to sort the suspects from victims and even
witnesses. Once you get everyone rounded up that “saw what happened”, make sure no one is around to hear another’s
story or given statement. Always separate those that have
something to say; you don’t want one leading another or
changing their story.
If, at any time, you are interviewing a witness and what they
are saying starts to implicate them as a suspect, you must stop
the interview immediately and read them their Miranda Rights
and advise them as such. The only problem with that, is they
usually clam up. The only good thing is that with military they
usually have a conscience and will come clean about the
incident. Dealing with military misdemeanors as opposed to
those committing a felony offense is a lot easier. One just
needs to listen to sort out who did what.
Emergency Situations
Like every other state and federal agency, the military also had
to have in place a plan for an emergency situation,
whetherman-made or act of nature. Most vessels, both
military and civilian, will get underway in the event of
a hurricane warning. Those ships that are unable
to get underway due to mechanical issues or other
reasonswere lashed to the pier with double lines. Otherwise,
the high seas and heavy surf could damage the ship and the
pier.
On military installations, military personnel had to plan for
possible flooding with the rain and the heavy surf coming over
the sea wall. All military personnel were recalled to the base
to fill and place sandbags and make sure all building were
secure. Civilian personnel were not expected to stay on base
during this type of emergency and were sent home to take
care of their family and personal property. Sometimes the
storm went around the area and landfall hit elsewhere, but the
emergency was always treated as the highest possible threat
so they would not be caught unawares.
Protect and Serve
The role of a military police officer varies on each base or ship.
Local and state law enforcement officer’s has laws that need to
be followed and their job is to make sure they are. Military
police do the same; we have regulation and articles of the
Uniform Code of Military Justice that have to be followed by
every enlisted and reserve member in the Armed Forces. The
role of military police is to maintain order and discipline
onboard military bases and ships both overseas and within the
United States. Military police don’t typically see much crime as
the regular LEOs would out in town.
Military police usually don’t have the same type of stress as
local and state LEOs would in that we are usually guaranteed
to come home after a shift. Even though our role as military
police is mild compared to our uniformed brothers and sisters,
we take our job just as serious as they do, and have often
enjoyed a camaraderie in working closely with local, state, and
federal law enforcement agencies when necessary. I
thoroughly enjoyed my 20 years as military police, and would
do it all over again.
Safety
One of the things we learned at the Joint Law Enforcement
Academy was routine traffic stops. Sad to say, after years of
being on the job a lot of officers get complacent when they
think they are performing a routine traffic stop. I see so many
officers getting hurt or killed at what they consider to be a
routine traffic stop. One of the things the instructors taught
us was that nothing was routine. Every situation had to
potential to go incredibly wrong in just a few seconds.
One must never let their guard down when conducting
anything pertaining to law enforcement. Look at every
situation as potentially harmful or hazardous and you can be
prepared for any scenario. Make a list of possible problems
one could have on patrol and how the situation can be handled.
One must stay vigilant at all times – treat everyone as a
potential suspect and ensure backup isn’t far away. The
instructors taught us if we felt unsafe in a situation make sure
dispatch knew exactly where you were and ask if there were
any other units in the area that could respond if necessary.
One cannot be too safe.
Military Police and Correctional Officers
Another difference there is between regular law enforcement
and military police is that we can do double duty as a
corrections officer. Naval vessels have a brig onboard that is
operational during periods of underway. It is not operational
while in domestic port as there is a brig on the naval base. The
reason for putting personnel in the brig is to segregate those
that are considered harmful to themselves and others and
cannot be in with the ship’s general population. Placing
individuals temporarily in the brig is for their own safe keeping.
Military police are able to attend a correctional officer school
and receive a diploma to be part of brig staff onboard a ship -but only on a ship. Military Police in the Navy do not work in
the brigs on naval installations. And, while onboard ship, those
military police working as MPs are not to work as MPs while
they are brig staff; it is considered a conflict of interest. There
are other designated personnel that are part of ship’s company
that have attended a brig certification school and are able to
run the brig alongside those military police taken off their
primary duties and temporarily designated brig staff.
Interview/Interrogation
One of the things I learned how to do while being
military police was the difference between interviewing
a victim/witness and interrogating a suspect. Interviewing
is done in a different manner from interrogating; you are
asking questions of the victim/witness that will help with
the case, and with an interrogation you are trying to get the
suspect to tell you what really happened. Interviewing is
more formal tactic that is used in the event of an incident
that is more detailed than just a field interview completed
at the scene. The quality of an interview/interrogation will
greatly determine the solvability of a case and perhaps
a successful prosecution, if the individual is charged with a
crime.
There is a certain technique that must be used during an
interview with victims/witnesses as opposed to interro-
gating a suspect. Getting someone to talk is always dicey,
depending on the situation, and sometimes with victims and
witnesses their thoughts are often jumbled and scattered.
It is the job of the interviewer to help the victim and/or
witness gather their thoughts coherently and project them
into a rational statement. When it comes to interrogating
suspects, you need to be a little bit more firm when talking
to them, but not too rough so that they don’t clam up. The
one good thing about being in the military is when you’re
charging someone with a UCMJ violation, one cannot “lawyer
up”. Some have a knack for interview and interrogation and
some do not. It can be a very worthwhile job.
Criminal Justice Ethics
Ethics is a standard of behavior, whether in law
enforcement, business, finance, etc. Everyone
has a code in which to live by professionally.
While certain ethics violations may not be
criminal in nature, it can certainly stain one’s
reputation both personally and professionally.
Word of mouth travels fast when it comes to an
ethics violation, and most people do not want to
be anywhere near the accused when the fallout
comes.
One things LEOs have to remember, both military
and other agencies is that we are not above the law;
we are to uphold the follow the law same as any other
citizen. There are those individuals who feel their
reputation precedes them and their word is not to
be questioned. That is all good, as long as their
reputation is intact and above reproach. When
it starts to slip, and the question of ethics comes
into question, that is when we must be our most
diligent to ensure we are not one of those who lets
the badge go to their head. We are not above reproach
and if anything, need to strictly adhere to the law
more than anyone. Our reputation follows us our
entire career, and sometimes after. We need to make
sure it is without blemish and stays that way.
Academy Training
When I first applied to the Joint Law Enforcement
Academy to become a Master-at-Arms, or Military
Police (Navy), one of the criteria to apply was I had
to be of a certain rank and with it, time in service.
The Navy felt in order for the MA’s to be taken
seriously and viewed with authority, the applicants
needed to have some understanding of the how
the military worked and at the same time be able to
impose authority. Other branches of the military
E4’s become NCOs, or Non-Commissioned Officers,
and there is a lot of responsibility and authority that
goes along with that rank. The Navy felt in order to
be effective as law enforcement officers we also
needed to have the maturity in which to make
proper decisions concerning apprehension,
detaining an individual, interview/interrogation, etc.
The typical E5 in the Navy usually has at least
4 years active service and yearly evaluations that
allow the individual, along with a test, to be
advanced to the next highest pay grade.
For criminal justice academies throughout the
country applicants can be 18 or 21, depending on
the state. Some of those applicants are mature
enough to make a split second decision on what
to do; most are not. Those just graduating from
the academy are placed with a senior LEO or FTO
to train them on what needs to be done and how to
conduct themselves while on patrol. Unfortunately,
with some state budget cuts, a lot of that training
gets interrupted by real life situations. It’s a very
stressful job, having to learn on the fly like that,
and some will say the new grads will either sink or
swim. It’s a very different society now than when I
went through the academy – hopefully the PDs will
gain back the people’s trust and are able to show not
all cops are corrupt – most just want to protect and
serve the people and do the job properly.
Asset Protection
Part of the job of military police is also the protection
of government personnel and facilities. Part of our
post watch on a military base is checking the perimeter
and all doors and windows of buildings. The military
has quite a lot that needs protecting, from equipment
to research and development to personnel files all
which are all considered to be assets of the
government. The military has security measures in
place in which to protect those assets by means of
secured doors and windows, alarm systems, and
security cameras. Those cameras are monitored
by the Security Office and security personnel that
are on duty on any particular evening or weekend.
During the day, the asset protection falls to the staff
that occupy the building during the day.
Asset protection for military is different from the
private or public sector in that no one can take the
military to court over a disagreement about the
ownership of those assets. Civilian counterparts will
insure their assets for a certain amount to ensure their
safety and depending on the value of the assets they
may also hire civilian contract security to guard their
facilities. Another reason why military personnel
sometimes go into the public safety sector upon
separation from the military – we’ve been doing the
job for a while. Military personnel understand the
importance of asset and personnel protection in a
way that no typical civilian would unless we equate
the need to protect our family and homes the same as
government or public property.
PTSD
PTSD in the field isn’t becoming more prevalent,
it’s just being talked about more. Everyone that
has ever served in the military or other high risk
job such as police and fire have suffered the effects
of PTSD at some point or another. Some handle
it better than others and for some it is a daily struggle
trying to unsee and unfeel what we’ve encountered
on the job. Some compartmentalize and deal with
the trauma in their own time; some can’t help it as
hits them when they least expect it. Part of learning
to deal with PTSD, I have found, is recognizing the
triggers and using those triggers to your advantage
on the job.
I think most of what helps me keep mine in check
is keeping things in perspective. True, no one wants
to have to discharge their firearm on the job; sometimes
it is necessary in the order of self defense. None of us
like killing another individual but sometimes it just
happens. Keeping that in perspective of what it
actually is I think helps others deal with the issue.
Loud noises can also trigger some that have served
in the military but if they learn to distinguish those
noises it can help deal with them. So many of those
that are in these high stress jobs do not go through
any type of trauma training prior to entering the field
or in the case of military heading overseas for
assignment or deployment. These days some inner
city work can be as bad as overseas assignments.
I think some type of trauma training should be done
in academies and military branches to prepare these
individuals what may or may not be encountered
while on the job – it may actually help them deal with
it better in the long run, and perhaps head off the
PTSD before it truly starts.
Military personnel are trained to be disciplined and
have great work ethic. When military members leave
the military some will gravitate towards law
enforcement or some other form of public service.
There are so many similarities between the two;
most military members have stood security or fire
watch at some point, and have an attitude that
employers find appealing. All military members
will have some degree of small arms proficiency,
which also makes them much easier to hire for
police, sheriff, and/or private security companies.
Military may also gravitate towards this line of work
because they understand the structure that goes
along with the wearing of a uniform and being a
part of a team so it is an easy transition from
military to civilian sector. They don’t have to be
monitored as closely as someone just entering into
the field for the first time because they have
already had some degree of training. There is also
a level of comfort for military-types when entering
this type of employment because so many are also
prior military so there is a solidarity that is shared
and understood.
Situational Awareness
Being in the technical age, we are now a nation of smart
phones that constantly require our attention. People
no longer have conversations at dinner table; everyone
is too busy checking phones for messages from work,
school, friends, family, etc. While at times these actions
are necessary, most times they can be a safety hazard.
We’ve all seem the newspaper articles about traffic
accidents on the rise because someone was texting
or checking messages on their phone. This is getting
to be quite dangerous in that no one is truly aware of
their surroundings. They are oblivious to the imminent
dangers around them. Sad to say, we are also in the age of
heightened terrorist activity and people must be aware of what is going on around them, for the safety of themselves
and their family.
As Police Officers, we are trained to be aware of our
surroundings 24/7; we never let our guard down. It is
hard to put the phone down when we are so used to
looking at it on a regular basis or constantly asked to
look something up while on the job. Situational
awareness is becoming quite an issue with people
driving, people walking, just paying attention to their
immediate surroundings. People crossing a busy street,
not realizing the “Do Not Walk” sign is lit and they are
busy with their phone and probably do not realize
someone coming towards them in a vehicle may also be
busy on their phone. Situational awareness is a huge
safety issue both on and off the job. Being safe and being
vigilant is something we must all strive for.
Law Enforcement Liaison
It is important for military police to have a good working
relationship with the local, state, and federal law
enforcement agencies. The majority of military bases are
situated within city limits and while these agencies do
have jurisdiction on the base, it is considered a professional
courtesy to meet with the Security Officer once on base
and explain their reason for being there. The dispatcher
at the Public Safety Office on base usually gets a phone
call prior to the officer arriving at the gate. Military
Police (Navy) do not have the powers to arrest; only
the power to detain until another agency takes those
individual(s) into custody for questioning, depending on
the charges, or if that individual is military, released to
the individual’s superior.
In order to have a good working relationship with the
other agencies, one must be able to work effectively
with those agencies and with the people within the
agencies. Having a good relationship is important in
that it will also give us access to these resources that
other agencies can offer us. Being able to rely on them,
and vice versa, sometimes made doing our jobs that much
easier. We may have information they need and it is
always in the best interest of public safety to share that
information.
When I was stationed in Portsmouth, VA., the back side
of the base abutted a known drug area. Together with
the Portsmouth PD and Virginia DEA they were able to
finally bring down the crack house that they had under
surveillance for months. We were able to train our
facility cameras outward towards that area and were
able to submit the footage as evidence.
One of the reasons why I chose law enforcement while in the Navy was not only to Protect and Serve, but I was really tired of the corrupt LEOs I had already come into contact with during my first 10 years on active duty. I knew that I could make a difference and I chose to get actively involved. A very satisfying career that ended too quickly.
The one mistake I’ve seen LEOs make is letting the badge go to their head. Being Law Enforcement means we have to be above reproach; all eyes watch us and those that enforce
the laws should also be able to uphold the law. So many I’ve come into contact with thought they were above the law – only to have it catch up with them later. My advice to anyone
entering law enforcement as a chosen field: make sure your record is spotless and always act within ethical means. Do your job right the first time and you won’t have to go back
to make corrections.