thedrifter
12-19-07, 07:02 AM
Base to limit civilian cops to ex-military
LINDELL KAY
DAILY NEWS STAFF
A dozen local area police officers - a handful of whom sent resumes - contacted The Daily News asking how to apply for a job with Camp Lejeune after reading a Nov. 25 story on the base hiring civilian police officers.
But the police officers eager to sign up for one of the 366 available civilian police jobs on base might want to wait before giving their current boss notice.
Camp Lejeune is looking for the few, the proud, the experienced - applicants with military service in their backgrounds - for its new Marine Corps Police Department, which will be built from the ground up beginning early 2008, according to information released by base officials.
"Currently, the base is only looking for individuals with prior military service experience," said Maj. Nat Fahy, director of public affairs for Camp Lejeune.
Fahy said any interested party can fill out an application for one of the civilian police jobs online at /chart.donhr.navy.mil.
Prospective applicants must first establish a CHART - Civilian Hiring and Recruitment Tool - account before building and submitting their resumes. The series number for civilian police with varying duties and pay grades is 0083.
One of the job listings for Camp Lejeune on the Web site calls for a salary from $18,732 to $121,640, depending on grade level and job location. The job title is listed as police officer / detective and the opening date given is March 13, 2008.
The job description states the applicant may "supervise, lead or perform a variety of duties related to preserving the peace. You may investigate, detect and prevent crimes, arrest violators, provide assistance to those in emergency situations and protect the civil rights of citizens. You may also be involved in dealing with counter-terrorism operations, security breaches, investigations and crime prevention, both on land and at sea."
Incoming police officers will be required to pass a security investigation and a local background check. Newly hired police officers will have to complete an eight-week Marine Corps civilian law enforcement course.
Sneads Ferry resident Michael Weiler, a former Marine and Dallas police officer, said he could not wait to sign up for one of the civilian police jobs on base.
"All my background and experience is in either the military or criminal justice," he said. "Working at Camp Lejeune as a police officer would mean I'd be doing a job I could wake up happy to every day."
Jacksonville Police Chief Mike Yaniero said it made sense to him that the base would look to hire police officers with prior military experience for civilian police jobs on Camp Lejeune.
Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown agreed.
"I have always thought the jobs would be opportunities for military personnel getting out of the service more so than a draw to established law enforcement officers already at work in the community," he said.
But chiefs of smaller law enforcement agencies in the area said they still feel threatened by the domino effect.
Even if Jacksonville loses fewer officers to the base than first expected, the smaller towns might still lose that amount of officers to the Jacksonville Police Department. Then the smaller police departments might be forced to hire less experienced officers to fill the void.
"Five out of nine of my guys are prior military," Holly Ridge Police Chief John Maiorano said. "I don't know exactly how this will affect things, but I imagine there will still be a lot of police officers in the area trying to get those jobs."
Maiorano said the idea that the base is only looking for police officers with prior military experience also switches up what kind of police officers might be left after the bulk of the base hirings take place.
"The most experienced guys will more than likely stick around," Maiorano said. "But out of the younger officers, there is no doubt military experience makes for a mature police officer. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out."
The move to civilian police will put an end to the Fleet Assistance Program for provost marshal offices. The program sends Marines from other fields to temporarily fill in as military police. Eliminating the FAP would provide the maximum number of Marines available to support Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, said 1st Lt. Craig Thomas, deputy director of base public affairs.
Beginning next year, the base's provost marshal office will morph into a Marine Corps Police Department and hire 366 police officers, base officials said.
Contact police reporter Lindell Kay at lkay@freedomenc.com or 910-554-8534. To comment on this story or to read others' comments go to jdnews.com.
Ellie
LINDELL KAY
DAILY NEWS STAFF
A dozen local area police officers - a handful of whom sent resumes - contacted The Daily News asking how to apply for a job with Camp Lejeune after reading a Nov. 25 story on the base hiring civilian police officers.
But the police officers eager to sign up for one of the 366 available civilian police jobs on base might want to wait before giving their current boss notice.
Camp Lejeune is looking for the few, the proud, the experienced - applicants with military service in their backgrounds - for its new Marine Corps Police Department, which will be built from the ground up beginning early 2008, according to information released by base officials.
"Currently, the base is only looking for individuals with prior military service experience," said Maj. Nat Fahy, director of public affairs for Camp Lejeune.
Fahy said any interested party can fill out an application for one of the civilian police jobs online at /chart.donhr.navy.mil.
Prospective applicants must first establish a CHART - Civilian Hiring and Recruitment Tool - account before building and submitting their resumes. The series number for civilian police with varying duties and pay grades is 0083.
One of the job listings for Camp Lejeune on the Web site calls for a salary from $18,732 to $121,640, depending on grade level and job location. The job title is listed as police officer / detective and the opening date given is March 13, 2008.
The job description states the applicant may "supervise, lead or perform a variety of duties related to preserving the peace. You may investigate, detect and prevent crimes, arrest violators, provide assistance to those in emergency situations and protect the civil rights of citizens. You may also be involved in dealing with counter-terrorism operations, security breaches, investigations and crime prevention, both on land and at sea."
Incoming police officers will be required to pass a security investigation and a local background check. Newly hired police officers will have to complete an eight-week Marine Corps civilian law enforcement course.
Sneads Ferry resident Michael Weiler, a former Marine and Dallas police officer, said he could not wait to sign up for one of the civilian police jobs on base.
"All my background and experience is in either the military or criminal justice," he said. "Working at Camp Lejeune as a police officer would mean I'd be doing a job I could wake up happy to every day."
Jacksonville Police Chief Mike Yaniero said it made sense to him that the base would look to hire police officers with prior military experience for civilian police jobs on Camp Lejeune.
Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown agreed.
"I have always thought the jobs would be opportunities for military personnel getting out of the service more so than a draw to established law enforcement officers already at work in the community," he said.
But chiefs of smaller law enforcement agencies in the area said they still feel threatened by the domino effect.
Even if Jacksonville loses fewer officers to the base than first expected, the smaller towns might still lose that amount of officers to the Jacksonville Police Department. Then the smaller police departments might be forced to hire less experienced officers to fill the void.
"Five out of nine of my guys are prior military," Holly Ridge Police Chief John Maiorano said. "I don't know exactly how this will affect things, but I imagine there will still be a lot of police officers in the area trying to get those jobs."
Maiorano said the idea that the base is only looking for police officers with prior military experience also switches up what kind of police officers might be left after the bulk of the base hirings take place.
"The most experienced guys will more than likely stick around," Maiorano said. "But out of the younger officers, there is no doubt military experience makes for a mature police officer. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out."
The move to civilian police will put an end to the Fleet Assistance Program for provost marshal offices. The program sends Marines from other fields to temporarily fill in as military police. Eliminating the FAP would provide the maximum number of Marines available to support Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, said 1st Lt. Craig Thomas, deputy director of base public affairs.
Beginning next year, the base's provost marshal office will morph into a Marine Corps Police Department and hire 366 police officers, base officials said.
Contact police reporter Lindell Kay at lkay@freedomenc.com or 910-554-8534. To comment on this story or to read others' comments go to jdnews.com.
Ellie