US Navy Police

[Texas Star]

The evening TV news here showed an anti-terrorist exercise at the joint service base in Ft. Worth.

The camera showed a car marked, US Navy, Police. One officer was shown in a close-up, wearing a gold badge. Uniforms were camo.

Does the Navy now have a full-time career field like that? I thought they used Shore Patrolmen from some Master at Arms program and that the assignment wasn't really a career field. The other service branches have long had their versions of Military Police, of course.

What's the current Navy situation and when did they add a Police career field, if so?

 

[Kevin J.]

Contractors? Just a guess from a former Air Force Security Police.

 

[Texas Star]

Kevin-

That's what I was wondering. I'm also a former USAF cop, but we were AF personnel. I understand that some bases now use private contractors.

 

[Kevin J.]

My friend was a jarhead .....I mean Marine at Seal Beach Navy special weapons storage facility. The Marines were guards for the special weapons but the base patrol and gate guards were all contractors., but this was in the late 70's.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Master at arms........ on ship ( and boot camp )

MP ........... on land ( Navy PO's )

and yes we had Marines at the front gates also.

We did not have camo back when I was in..................
whites, dungs and greens in the CB's.

 

[STCM(SW)]

MAA is a rate. Ship or Shore.
SP is duty days on patrol in port .
Marines at the gate.
Has to be contractors.

 

[DWalt]

Many bases use contracted guards for perimeter security, or possibly military personnel augmented by contractor guards. Security inside the base is usually provided by military security personnel. I have no idea how the Navy security function is organized.

 

[GatorFarmer]

Navy Police, Marine Corps Police et al are Federal Law Enforcement officers and seperate from the military police of various branches. These are civilians in the employ of the Navy,Marines, et al.

You protect the base, do patrols, even write traffic tickets. It is a good job, and important, but few people are aware of it.

 

[steveno]

at Rhein Main AB in Germany a good portion of the guards on base were Germans in a different uniform. I think was the case at most of the air bases in Germany. they were mostly at the gates as I don't remember seeing any of them on the flightline

 

[ohioseabee]

The Navy created, back in the 80s, the rate of Master at Arms, or MA. As a career field it encompasses all of the law enforcement, corrections activities both afloat and ashore. At the beginning it was a rate you could only enter at the E-5 paygrade by cross-rating from another rate, but it has since evolved to a career field.

 

[NYlakesider]

The Navy has a semi secret nuke base not too far from where I live and I have seen cars marked as Navy Police on the public roads all over the area..

They look like any other cop car and from what I saw of the officers (in cop type uniforms) they looked like any other police force. Base is called the Kesselring Site. It is findable if you search on Google!

 

[Whitwabit]

The Navy has a semi secret nuke base not too far from where I live and I have seen cars marked as Navy Police on the public roads all over the area..

They look like any other cop car and from what I saw of the officers (in cop type uniforms) they looked like any other police force. Base is called the Kesselring Site. It is findable if you search on Google!

Not so semi-secret now !!

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Now that I think about it, Carswell was the last Navy base that I was on.
I don't recall who was at the gate. They looked at my ID card and waved me through.
Since it's a Reserve Base, I'm going with either contractors or Navy Civilians. Probably Navy Civilians.
The last Army base I was on is Fort Hauchuca. The folks at the front gate were Army Civilians, I think.
A nice security lady gave me a map and directed me to the museum.

 

[Texas Star]

Doesn't the military still have its own MP's, etc.?

With the increasing terror threat, I'd think more bases would have them in greater profusion.

 

[deadin]

Back in my day (Pre-MAA rate) each division on the ship had to provide a Petty Officer for duty as Master at Arms.
You could probably guess that, in some cases, the Division Officer would volunteer some really "interesting" characters for the job. As said before, in the '80's (after my time) they finally got wise and made the MAA into a rating that could be trained and specialize in enforcement.

 

[Philadelphia Patriot]

Navy Police, Marine Corps Police et al are Federal Law Enforcement officers and seperate from the military police of various branches. These are civilians in the employ of the Navy,Marines, et al.

You protect the base, do patrols, even write traffic tickets. It is a good job, and important, but few people are aware of it.

^that. I see them at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where my girlfriend works. She said they're actually hiring more for that location. Right now her building has unarmed security....even though they have Top Secret stuff in the buildings. Typical of the government, these things take forever to happen.

Their SUVs look like this, except their explorers are a few years older at the Philly Navy Yard. Color scheme is the same...

 

[THE PILGRIM]

^that. I see them at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where my girlfriend works. She said they're actually hiring more for that location. Right now her building has unarmed security....even though they have Top Secret stuff in the buildings. Typical of the government, these things take forever to happen.

Their SUVs look like this, except their explorers are a few years older at the Philly Navy Yard. Color scheme is the same...

Ok. Who is 'them' riding in the nice SUVs?
Navy, Civilians, or maybe Marines?

 

[Philadelphia Patriot]

Ok. Who is 'them' riding in the nice SUVs?
Navy, Civilians, or maybe Marines?

Civilians who are police officers who are employed by the US Navy to uphold the law on Navy bases and in Navy buildings.

They also have a Navy Fire Department that employs civilians.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Civilians who are police officers who are employed by the US Navy to uphold the law on Navy bases and in Navy buildings.

They also have a Navy Fire Department that employs civilians.

Ok. That's what I thought and that's who probably guarding the Carswell Navy Reserve Base down in Ft. Worth.
I was out at Kirtland AFB last Sunday afternoon.
Happy to report there were Two Air Force Security Policemen on the gate.

 

[GatorFarmer]

Doesn't the military still have its own MP's, etc.?

With the increasing terror threat, I'd think more bases would have them in greater profusion.

Yes, and there is a quick reaction force. However, Federal LEOs have greater jurisdiction over civilians.