TITLE:
MILITARY POLICE
I’m Warrant Officer Barbara Smith. I’m from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. I’m a military policewoman and I’m currently posted to the Naval Military Police Group Headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario.
I’m Master Corporal Darryl Coughlin from Toledo, Ontario. I’m a military policeman working with the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service in Ottawa, Ontario.
SMITH: Military Police are sworn to uphold the laws of Canada and the code of service discipline. We’re dedicated to serving a global community of 90,000 regular and reserve-force members.
We handle everything from Internet cyber security to dockside patrols, from guarding our diplomatic missions overseas to directing traffic on convoy. Whether it’s investigating a domestic disturbance or a theft on base or securing and transporting enemy detainees, Canada’s Military Police members have a vital role to play.
COUGHLIN: Canadian Armed Forces members are there to protect Canada. As a Military Police member, you’re protecting those who protect Canada.
SMITH: On deployment, we go wherever our service men and women go. We also work with foreign law enforcement to help train and improve their ranks.
COUGHLIN: You’re constantly learning new skill sets, facing new challenges and upgrading your abilities.
I wanted the policing job and I also wanted to be in the military. I still wanted to be able to deploy and I found that the Military Police trade was the best opportunity for that. I could serve my community, serve the military community and serve abroad all while serving Canada.
SMITH: There are great opportunities for specialized postings. You could end up providing close protection for VIPs, handling security at one of Canada’s overseas embassies, or working undercover in one of our specialized investigative units. You could become an Air Marshall or an instructor who trains police forces in other countries.
COUGHLIN: You could work in Beijing, China… London, England… basically anywhere in the world where there’s a Canadian embassy.
SMITH: Before you can enroll in the Forces as a Military Police recruit, you’ll have to complete a community college diploma in Law and Security Administration, Police Foundations or a similar program from a recognized community college or CEGEP.
COUGHLIN: If you’re accepted, you’ll undergo basic military training in Saint-Jean, Quebec, then head to the Canadian Forces Military Police Academy in Borden, Ontario.
SMITH: The course at the Academy lasts six months. You’ll learn the basics of Canadian military and civilian law, emergency response, conflict mitigation, crime scene investigation and use of force. You’ll also learn the role of the Military Police in the Forces, in the community, in the courtroom and on the battlefield.
COUGHLIN: When you graduate from the Academy, you’ll be posted to your first detachment.
SMITH: Your first year as a provisional member of the Military Police is spent under close supervision at a police detachment on a Forces base in Canada. You’ll have a long list of benchmarks to pass to ensure you’re up to the job.
COUGHLIN: Once that initial year is up, you ride on your own and you’re able to get into more diverse training and experiences in the Military Police trade.
SMITH: My first posting was at CFB Halifax. I truly enjoyed my time on patrol there. The rush of a 911 call is incredible.
COUGHLIN: Within a detachment, you could be working as a court liaison officer or in a general investigations section. We have drug units, we have undercover operators – the sky’s the limit essentially.
SMITH: Currently, I’m a Police Operations Warrant Officer with the Naval Military Police Group Headquarters. On a day-to-day basis, I conduct quality assurance and police oversight on all police investigations across the Naval Military Police Group, for things such as impaired driving, common assault, fraud or other service offences.
COUGHLIN: You know, there’s no greater satisfaction than going home at the end of the day, knowing that you did something good. If the day’s been busy, you’ve been busy helping people. If the day’s been slow, then people haven’t needed your help and that’s just as satisfying.
TITLE:
MILITARY POLICE