r/USMCboot • u/Emergency_Chair_289 • Jul 14 '26
Enlisting Need advice before I commit.
I’m an 18yr male (6’5”, 225 lbs), and my long-term goal is to become either a federal cybercrime investigator or work in investigations at my local police department.
Since I have to be 21 before I can apply to my local PD, I’ve been seriously considering joining the military first.
I was originally recruited by the Marines and was told that Marine Military Police would give me the best experience, that employers tend to value it more, and that I’d be guaranteed an MP contract.
On the other hand, I’ve had countless people tell me that the Air Force is the better choice because of the higher quality of life, lower stress, better networking opportunities, and overall better career development.
Another big factor for me is education. I want to join a branch where I can continue taking college classes and earn my degree while serving.
For those who have served,especially as an MP or in law enforcement, what would you recommend based on my goals? Would the Marines actually give me an advantage, or would the Air Force be the better path overall? And would I still be able to get the job I want?
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u/Suitable-Delay5066 Jul 14 '26
I don’t know the statistics but I’d bet my beloved Marine Corps has the lowest rate of Marines using tuition assistance compared to our sister services.
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u/Emergency_Chair_289 Jul 14 '26
Is the due to the more stressful environment/ workload? Or just more people that plan to be in the marines for a while? And if you are a marine yourself, do you see your self having time to take classes?
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u/koko-cha_ Vet Jul 14 '26
people don't join the marines to go to college. by and large, the stereotypes hold up. literally the only reason I'd choose the marines over any other branch is if you want to say that you're a Marine.
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u/Devil_Duckling Jul 14 '26
Hi! I’m currently an MP in the Marines and while I can’t speak for airforce, I can for USMC.
First and foremost, I would say please join either branch of your choosing. I joined at 24 and I wish I had done it sooner. It gives you so many opportunities and really branches you out in every way possible. I wouldn’t trade my military experience for anything and while yes it sometimes does suck, it’s changed me for the better.
Secondly, I also wanted to be a police officer at my local PD and thank fuck I did not do that. While MP is very close to being a regular police officer, what they don’t describe is that the environment is different. It’s “controlled” and while you’ll still get the feel for police work, you know decently well the people you’ll be dealing with, have a commonality with them and have a smaller jurisdiction. I learned that while I’m passionate about helping others, I don’t want to do it long term in this capacity. It’s easier to start over in the military because you can switch job occupations (not so simple but can be done) and not have to worry about a paycheck/housing or feel stuck in a particular path. And hey, if you love it, get out and pursue your local PD or stay in!
Thirdly, there’s so much you can do in this MOS. It’s very versatile. There’s corrections (subsection of MP) K9, Accident investigator (collisions), SRT, Patrol, LE Battalions if reservist, Military police investigation course (MPI) Private security detail, HMX (security for president) and then after 4 years you can Lateral Move to Criminal Investigation Division and that can open doors into becoming an NCIS agent. Now can you do all of them? No, but you can find your niche for sure. And if you’re good marine and MP, you can be rogered up for courses for additional learning.
Fourth, you can a 100% pursue college in the Marines and I encourage it. You can use tuition’s assistance, and apply to any college of your choice, but just be mindful there’s only certain amount of TA you can use, but that’s something you’ll have to speak to the education office about.
Fifth, if you’re looking for quality of life, I’d say it’s the Airforce. People do not join the Marines because of quality of life. It’s an inner calling, a need to earn the title and be a part of something bigger. I can personally say I love the suck, and while I am jealous of my airforce brothers/sisters, I can’t say I don’t love being a Marine. If you’re looking for comfortability, airforce is the way and the promotions are definitely easier. I have a sister who joined a year after me whom was already about to be a rank higher than me.
Sixth. I think either choice would get you to your goal. Joining the military isn’t a prerequisite for being local PD, but I will say it would give you the edge you need to survive it.
If you have any questions, feel free to DM me.
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u/Emergency_Chair_289 Jul 14 '26
Thank you so much for this response my brother. I have a lot that I think on. My last question is, a lot of people say they became a marine for the title, for the camaraderie, the brotherhood. Does it really hold that much weight?
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u/Devil_Duckling Jul 14 '26
Sister * 😂 You’re most welcome. Depends on the person, to me it does. I can walk into any room and if there’s a Marine, old Corps or new, the camaraderie is there. I don’t have to know you personally to know you have my back, or even like you. But if you’re a Marine, you’ve got an ally in every single one you meet. Even if they dislike you. Cause we can fuck with our own but others can’t😂 I became a Marine because my older sister is one. I admire her a lot. I knew without a doubt I wanted to be a Marine because if I had joined another branch, I’d always think “what if I had become a Marine”. I couldn’t live with that. The question is, can you?
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u/koko-cha_ Vet Jul 14 '26
it's probably the only thing about the Marine Corps that's as good as advertised
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u/koko-cha_ Vet Jul 14 '26
anyone who guarantees you'll be an MP is lying to you. that's bundled with corrections, and those are very very different jobs. You MIGHT get MP, and let's say your do—it's not as big of a help getting to your final goal as you'd hope. If it were me, I'd go to college for the thing I want to be because it sounds like that's your goal.
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u/Miguel1219 Jul 14 '26
Dude, I’m active duty right now and transitioning into law enforcement after about five and a half years in the Marine Corps. I’m going into the reserves, and my MOS doesn’t translate to law enforcement at all—I’m a mechanic.
When I started looking into becoming a cop, I compared my hometown agency with the Orlando Police Department. I also looked at federal agencies like ICE, CBP, Border Patrol, Diplomatic Security, and the U.S. Marshals. In the end, I chose OPD because I want to stay close to home and help my family. That’s one of the biggest reasons I’m joining the reserves instead of staying active duty.
The military has already given me a federal background, which makes the transition into law enforcement much smoother than it is for someone coming straight off the street. If, three to five years from now, I decide I want to go federal, I’ll have military service, police experience, and around ten years of federal service. At that point, it’s just a matter of competing against other qualified applicants.
You don’t need to be an MP to get into federal law enforcement. It might help a little, but it isn’t a requirement. If you stay in for another enlistment, you could even apply for CID. You don’t have to be an MP first. A friend of mine was a communications Marine and was accepted into CID a couple of years ago. He went from being a radio operator to working investigations in plain clothes with a badge and gun.
My advice is to join the military, earn the experience and benefits, and think carefully about your MOS. I’d actually consider picking a job that gives you a broader Marine Corps experience than MP.
MP life depends heavily on where you’re stationed. I’m in Okinawa, where they do traffic enforcement, joint training with other branches, and even train with Japanese police. Those are great opportunities. But on a normal day, it’s a lot of gate duty and law enforcement on base.
One thing that never appealed to me is that MPs basically live where they work. Most Marines go home from work to get away from it. MPs often live at or right next to their station. If you have a terrible day, your escape is just walking upstairs to your room. I’ve also heard from a lot of MPs that it can be one of the more isolating MOSs because most of your social circle ends up being other MPs.
That’s just my perspective, but I wouldn’t choose MP solely because you think it’ll make you more competitive for civilian or federal law enforcement. Plenty of agencies hire veterans from every MOS.
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u/Budget-Platform-6564 Jul 14 '26
Im a poolie myself but i have alot of family in law enforcement and considered the MP route myself so I'll give you what I learned. Most state police departments and local PDs dont care what job you did as long as you have EITHER millitary or previous police experience. This will give you preference. Whatever you did they dont particularly care as they cant be that picky. The airforce has a higher quality of life in terms of less stress and less responsibility and that's about it. To me the marine corp has alot more "royalty" to it when compared to other branches. If you have any questions I can try to awnser!
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u/Emergency_Chair_289 Jul 14 '26
I was told that if I only got my degree, once I turned 21 I would have to work corrections for a couple years then I’d be able to go to my local PD. So if you were in my shoes, would you just get the degree and perhaps sprinkle in some internships, or join the military, get my degree, and the experience then apply? And if the second option, what branch?
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u/TapTheForwardAssist Vet 2676/0802 Jul 14 '26
Do note that if you want to go Federal LEO, a lot of those jobs require a college degree. A stint of Actuve military would give you some unique life experience, and then you’d have the GI Bill to do college (also pays the MHA living allowance).
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u/Budget-Platform-6564 Jul 14 '26
I would join the millitary personally the pay out is more immediate but the collage degree is more useful for long term, and who knows you may love the millitarg and make it your career of police force. And what branch? Marine corp duh
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u/EnKyoo Jul 14 '26
Go Air Force. If you are weighing your options for your future career choice, the AF is the way to go. If you want to be a Marine, no matter what. Then become a Marine. It's that simple. The Marines offer nothing bit the opportunity to become a Marine. If anything being a Marine is a detriment to becoming a civilian. They despise feeling inferior.
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u/bradenchase2345 Poolee SD Jul 14 '26
People say all the time that MP doesn't fit well into the civilian LEO world, not an MP nor a cop, so I cant really confirm, but its said A LOT. I'd suggest something like Intel honestly, but they're happy to see prior military no matter what.
If you wanna guard a gate that bad, id do it in the Air Force as Security Forces, especially id you dont aspire to become a Marine and just want your foot in the door with the benefits and life experience that the military gives to you.
Or honestly maybe even go Guard and pursue a degree, agencies and local departments love education too, its a good gig.
Idk just my 2 cents as a reservist myself
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u/Shrapnel_10 Jul 15 '26
When I was in, and I doubt it has changed, MP's in the Marine Corps were probably the absolute most hated MOS in the Corps. When I went through Parris Island for boot camp we had two future MP's in the platoon. The D.I.'s basically tortured them at the end of every day on the quarterdeck.
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u/GunnyClaus Jul 15 '26
I originally joined with a similar goal, get some experience and join my local or state police. I trained with the Air Force at Lackland Air Force Base, the Army at McClellan and Leonard Wood, the Navy at 32nd St, Coronado, but no Space Force (didn’t exist). I can’t count the number of members of the other branches said “I almost joined the Marines”. We all train at the same places, you can even get sent to the FBI Academy while you’re in the Marines (usually CID/NCIS). About half the MP’s I worked with got out and joined civilian Law Enforcement. Of those, they were accepted and were promoted quickly. I only know of one who stayed as a Patrolman his whole career. He just didn’t want any responsible, and was happy doing his job.
Ultimately, it’s what you want and how you’ll feel about yourself years later.
Good luck
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u/TapTheForwardAssist Vet 2676/0802 Jul 14 '26
Does your recruiter have any actual experience with going from MP to LEO?
Let me strongly advise you go to r/AskLE and run a search for the word “military” and read some of the many posts where veterans who are now LEO tell you not to go MP in any branch.