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Army MOS · Support

31A Military Police

Current service use not established

This code is listed in the directory. Inclusion alone does not confirm current service use.

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Overview

A military police officer commands or assists in commanding military police, physical security, correctional, or criminal investigation units and activities. The officer plans and directs military police and physical security operations, oversees confinement facilities and hospital prisoner wards, or supervises criminal investigation programs.

Core Skills

  • Command-level physical security planning and coordination
  • Confinement facility and prisoner ward administration
  • Criminal investigation program development and oversight

Civilian Career Paths

Career associations are editorial assessments of the cited evidence, not an official crosswalk unless the evidence explicitly says so. O*NET supplies civilian occupation information, not proof of a military match. Related experience does not confer civilian qualifications. Tasks and tools below describe civilian work, not military training.

First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers

Commanding physical security activities provides directly relevant experience for supervising civilian site-security operations.

How to prepare: Check the state licensing board's guard requirements before applying for a site-supervisor opening. Where guard licensing applies, basic requirements generally include age 18, a background check and training, while armed work usually requires government authorization and stricter screening.

What the civilian work involves
  • Investigate disturbances on the premises, such as security alarms, altercations, and suspicious activity.
  • Patrol the premises to prevent or detect intrusion, protect property, or preserve order.
  • Monitor and authorize entry of employees, visitors, or other persons.
Civilian tools and software (examples)
  • Employee scheduling software

First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives

Military police command and criminal investigation program oversight overlap with directing police operations and supervising criminal cases.

How to prepare: Ask a target agency to assess your eligibility against its appointment, academy, on-the-job training, certification, and supervisory-entry requirements. Military command does not grant civilian police authority or an exemption from agency requirements.

What the civilian work involves
  • Supervise and coordinate the investigation of criminal cases, offering guidance and expertise to investigators, and ensuring that procedures are conducted in accordance with laws and regulations.
  • Prepare work schedules and assign duties to subordinates.
  • Explain police operations to subordinates to assist them in performing their job duties.
Civilian tools and software (examples)
  • Microsoft Office software

Training & Development

Choose credentials for your target role. COOL funding markers describe program listings, not a guarantee of eligibility or funding.

Career Growth

  • Physical Security Professional (PSP)

    Support progression in civilian physical security supervision by validating accumulated physical security experience.

    Eligibility and preparation: Requires five years of physical security experience without a higher education degree, reduced to four with an APP; four years with an accredited bachelor's degree or international equivalent, reduced to three with an APP; or three years with an accredited master's degree or international equivalent. Qualifying experience must involve personal engagement in security or loss prevention full time or as a primary duty.

    For: First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers

Notes & Sources

Evidence for this guidance (7 documents)
  1. Army COOL MOC feed: 31A Military Police

    [1] data/authority/army-codes.json entry 31A (OSD COOL feed, fetched 2026-07-25); DB rank officer, authority codeType officer

    Supports: Command-level physical security planning and coordination, Confinement facility and prisoner ward administration, Criminal investigation program development and oversight, First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers (O*NET 33-1091.00), First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives (O*NET 33-1012.00)

  2. O*NET: First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers

    [2] O*NET 30.3 occupational data

    Supports: First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers (O*NET 33-1091.00)

  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Security Guards and Gambling Surveillance Officers

    [3] How to Become One; Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations; page dated 2026-08-27, retrieved 2026-09-23

    Supports: First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers (O*NET 33-1091.00)

  4. O*NET: First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives

    [4] O*NET 30.3 occupational data

    Supports: First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives (O*NET 33-1012.00)

  5. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Police and Detectives

    [5] How to Become a Police Officer or Detective; retrieved 23 September 2026

    Supports: First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives (O*NET 33-1012.00)

  6. COOL credential mapping: Physical Security Professional (PSP)

    [6] 31A cached COOL credential feed

    Supports: Physical Security Professional (PSP)

  7. ASIS International Board Certification Handbook, updated 4 August 2026

    [7] Page 30, PSP Eligibility Requirements; page 8, experience definition

    Supports: Physical Security Professional (PSP)

Defense contractor jobs for 31A

Descriptions may be summarized for clarity. Verify all information with your branch career counselor or official military documentation before making career decisions.

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