Hello, Marines.

I'm halfway through college. I don't want to be here at all, but my parents want me to have a degree and I owe them everything.

Since my junior year of high school, I wanted to enlist and get experience in law enforcement from the Marines. Whether I stay in for life or use it as a jumping point to get a similar job in the civilian world, I'll decide when I get there, but I definitely want the structured and professional atmosphere of the Marine Corps to prepare me to be an investigator.

I've met lots of service members and learned a lot about how they work, but I've never met a law enforcer for the military.

Things I've found out through my research:
  • Carefully read enlistment contracts, preferably with a current service member you trust over your shoulder.
  • 5821 is not an MOS you get straight out of training. You must be a Sergeant among other qualifications.
  • The daily life of an investigator is not at all like TV shows like CSI or NCIS.


Here are my questions for you:
  • What's your chain of command like? Who reports to who? Who does what?
  • How similar to civilian units are you? Is it like working in a local PD?
  • Would you say your work teaches you a lot? Are you prepared to work in a civilian unit if you had to leave the Marine Corps?
  • If you had the opportunity, would you have taken the officer route for the same area of work? Would you prefer the job of the officer above you?
  • Were you promised your MOS? Is it even possible to secure in writing you will get the MOS you want with a recruiter?
  • What's a good MOS to prepare for 5821? I would think a normal progression would be from 5800 to 5811 to 5821. Is 5800 an MOS you can receive right after recruit training?
  • For reservists, is your civilian job in law enforcement? Can you even be a reservist and have the MOS 5821? One thing I was considering doing was being a reservist with the MOS 5821 and also work to get into a federal law enforcement agency.

Thank you for entertaining this post,
Phillip.