USMC OFFICER

Military Police Officer 5803

Military Police Officer 5803
4 min read
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MOS
Officer

The Military Police, Investigations, and Corrections OccFld provides the commander continuous support by enforcing the law; preventing and suppressing crime; assessing command physical security posture; preserving military control; quelling disturbances; investigating offenses; apprehending offenders; protecting property and personnel; registering and controlling privately owned vehicles and weapons; investigating traffic accidents; controlling traffic; antiterrorism; handling and safeguarding prisoners of war, refugees, or evacuees; conducting small unit offensive and defensive combat operations; guarding military prisoners; returning absentees/deserters to military control; and supervising brig operations and correctional custody units.

What is a 5803

Military Police Officers command, or assist in command, Law Enforcement forces and units and conduct mission assurance, law and order operations (LOO), military working dog (MWD) operations, limited detainee operations (LDO), planning and training, and US customs and border investigations. Military Police Officers function as supervisors, coordinators, and administrators of law enforcement matters and support MAGTF operations during peace, conflict, and war and have the capability to function across the ROMO.

Are there any prerequisites to becoming a Military Police Officer?

  1. Complete the Military Police Officer Basic Course (MPOBC) at the U.S. Army Military Police School at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. The purpose of the MPOBC is to provide grade Marine Officers with the knowledge and skills necessary to perform the duties and responsibilities of a Military Police Officer. This course is designed to provide students with the training required to function as a Military Police Officer in the Operating Forces and Supporting Establishment. Students will receive instruction and practical application in the following areas: mission assurance, MWD, LDO, Law and Order Operations, and Military Police Planning and Training. This training will provide these officers with the required skills to support each respective element in the MAGTF.

Common first assignments

The support provided by Military Police Officers is required aboard every major Marine Corps installation and in units across the MAGTF. A typical first tour assignment for Military Police Officers may as a Platoon Commander or Company Executive Officer within an O-5 (Lieutenant Colonel) level command at a Law Enforcement Battalion as part of the CE of the MAGTF. There is one Law Enforcement Battalion subordinate to each MIG as well as to Force Headquarters Group (FHG) as part of MARFORRES: 1st Law Enforcement Battalion aboard MCB Camp Pendleton, CA (I MIG); 2nd Law Enforcement Battalion aboard MCB Camp Lejeune, NC (II MIG); 3rd Law Enforcement Battalion aboard Camp Hansen, MCB Camp Smedley D. Butler, Okinawa, Japan (III MIG); and 4th Law Enforcement Battalion in Saint Paul, MN (FHG).

Military Police Officers in their first tour may also be assigned to an installation Provost Marshal Office (PMO), serving as a Watch Commander or Staff Officer responsible for the direct supervision and coordination of military police personnel performing Law Enforcement Operations, Criminal Investigations, and Support Services.

Recommended reading for Military Police Officers?

  • Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art of Persuasion. George J. Thompson

  • The Outward Mindset: Seeing Beyond Ourselves. The Arbinger Institute

  • Torture and Truth: America, Abu Ghraib, and the War on Terror. Mark Danner

  • Letters from Long Binh: Memoirs of a Military Policeman in Vietnam. Randy Mixter

  • Warrior Police: Rolling with America’s Military Police in the World’s Trouble Spots. Gordon Cucullu

Related occupations

  • 5804, Corrections Officer (III) (CWO5 to WO) PMOS

  • 5805, Criminal Investigation Officer (III) (CWO5 to WO) PMOS

  • 5811, Military Police (MGySgt to Pvt) PMOS

  • 5812, Military Working Dog Handler (MSgt to Pvt) NMOS (5811)

  • 5813, Traffic Management and Collision Investigator (TMCI) (GySgt to Cpl) NMOS (5811)

  • 5814, Physical Security Specialist (GySgt to Cpl) NMOS (5811)

  • 5816, Special Reaction Team (SRT) Member (GySgt to Cpl) NMOS (5811)

  • 5819, Military Police Investigator (MPI) (GySgt to Cpl) NMOS (5811)

  • 5821, Criminal Investigator CID Agent (MGySgt to Sgt) PMOS

  • 5822, Forensic Psycho-Physiologist (Polygraph Examiner) (GySgt to SSgt) NMOS (5821)

  • 5831, Correctional Specialist (MGySgt to Pvt) PMOS

  • 5832, Correctional Counselor (MGySgt to Cpl) NMOS (5831)