How To Become A Military Police Officer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a military police officer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

The key duty of a military police officer is to protect lives and properties and to provide direction and leadership to the military police. Also, you will need to regularly patrol the military facility to detect and address any breaches in security. Your job requires you to occasionally transport and ensure the safety of important dignitaries, government officials, and criminals between locations. You are also expected to maintain a good relationship with your superiors and subordinates to fulfill your duties and obligations. Another duty of a military police officer is to investigate and curb suspicious activity on time.

To get a job as a military police officer, you need to have a good knowledge of all military principles and must have completed all prerequisite military training. You need just a high school diploma to get a job as a military police officer. With these requirements met, you will earn an average salary of $44,911 every year or $22 every hour.

ScoreMilitary Police OfficerUS Average

Salary

3.0

Avg. Salary $38,080

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.05%

Asian 3.28%

Black or African American 12.08%

Hispanic or Latino 17.65%

Unknown 4.61%

White 61.33%

Gender

female 21.15%

male 78.85%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.1

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.0

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a military police officer

Explore military police officer education requirements

Most common military police officer degrees

Bachelor's

36.8 %

High School Diploma

28.4 %

Associate

21.3 %

Start to develop specific military police officer skills

Skills	Percentages
Crowd Control	26.03%
Order Operations	24.72%
Patrol	14.76%
Public Safety	5.68%
Emergency Calls	3.58%

Complete relevant military police officer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New military police officers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a military police officer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real military police officer resumes.

Gain additional military police officer certifications

Military police officer certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific military police officer certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for military police officers include First Aid, CPR and AED Instructor and OSHA Safety Certificate .

More About Certifications

Research military police officer duties and responsibilities

Lead basic reconnaissance operation and report enemy movement to the platoon sergeant.
Manage the collection effort, supervise all-source analysis and ensure combat information and intelligence are disseminated rapidly to army units.
Perform law enforcement and garrison duties on military installations to include service during combat operations.
Investigate suspicious persons and situations along with safety hazards, unusual or illegal activity within the appointed patrol area.

Prepare your military police officer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your military police officer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a military police officer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable military police officer resume templates

Build a professional military police officer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your military police officer resume.