Lat Move CID

[Holloway2146]

I'm coming up for my time to re enlist shortly and I have been checking out lat moving to CID agent. Ive talked to my career planner, but I want to hear from someone who knows first hand about this. Can I get some advice?

[Sgt Leprechaun]

Wish I could help, something I looked into years back but didn't do. Promotions *then* were glacial at best. Sgt was the 'top out' for many guys in that field and they ended up having to get out when they reached 'max'.

Were I in your shoes, I'd go over to the MP company/station and ask to speak to a CID agent to get their take on things. Probably the best way to go.

[YLDNDN6]

My son and I just talked to a recruiter yesterday about UT field...MP/Corrections officer. He said my kid has all the qualifications, there just aren't any openings left this year...won't find out anything until September timeframe. Does CID fall under this MOS as well? Kind of curious now....Son wants to get this field, if he can, to prepare for civilian police work.

[Sgt Leprechaun]

I'll be honest, the MP field is the LAST place to effectively prepare to be a civilian copper. And CID is a 'lat move/promotion into only' MOS. You can't enlist for it.

MP's and civvie coppers 'police' in diametrically opposite ways, and those who were MP's have to be 'un-taught' about 90 percent of everything they've learned.

As a Police instructor/Field Training officer, I much preferred to get ANY other MOS from the military than 'MP' as a rookie.

[flinthill99]

All I can tell you is to have your ducks in a row if you're really interested in a lat move into CID. I got out back in 2004, I ended up getting out because the process put a bad taste in my mouth but I can honestly say I've long since regretted not giving it more effort.

Just before I got out, we started having re-enlistment briefs and the CID field got my attention. They were closing my MOS, so I had the pick of any field but CID was apparently a critical MOS so you could lat move out of any field into it as long as you met a few prereqs.

I retook the ASVAB and bumped my GT score up above the minimum for CID. I was able to get a letter showing that I was able to upgrade my security clearance from secret to top secret, and I was able to get two recommendation letters from my chain of command.

The hiccup came with the rank requirement. The requirement for CID was that you had to be a sergeant. At the time I was a corporal but would pick up sergeant before I got out and at the time, I knew I was close so I put in a package anyway. When it came time to sit in front of the MP monitor, I had my package ready but the monitor said that even though the requirements said 'sergeant' they were looking for staff sergeants or senior sergeants that were in zone for SSgt. He offered me a chance to reenlist as an MP but I was so ticked over the work I had done to put the package together, all I could think of was going back to school and then end up standing gate guard as a sergeant with a bunch of PFC's and LCpl's. I just let my temper get the best of me and I said no thanks and got out.

I think it would be a good idea and a very good job. I wish you the best of luck, just make sure you have everything together and I hope you have a current chain of command that will support you in some of the steps because you'll need their help for some steps of the way.