Marine Corps Civilian Law Enforcement: A Necessary Evil

摘要

In July 2007, Commandant of the Marine Corps James T. Conway commented on the realities that justified an increase in the size of the corps.1 The 'strain on military occupational specialties' that he noted was the result of nearly six years of war on multiple fronts following the events of September 11, 2001. Since that day, the Marine Corps has seen a drastic change in its mission, supporting the Global War on Terrorism while also significantly increasing the security of its infrastructure at bases and stations. Fully engaged in both of these efforts with a force of just over 4000 Marines,2 the military police (MP) community has struggled to provide the support demanded by both deployed and garrison units.3 To meet these challenges, the Law Enforcement Branch (PSL) at Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC) sought the most effective means to address the military police personnel shortage. In 2004 HQMC (PSL) evaluated the MP requirements for base security and Law Enforcement (LE) at all Marine Corps installations.