Army Questions (Advancement,MP, And Joining as an Officer)?

Question

So, As the title suggests, I am about to ask a few questions, Which may take 3-4 people to fully answer. So, Lets get to it. (Some of them might sound stupid)
1. I am interested in joining the Military Police as an Officer (31A). However, I wish to retire somewhere around the General area, As Army will be my lifelong career. That being said, I don't see how much "Advancement" can be achieved as a Military Police Officer. Infantry I can see you leading bigger groups of men and such but I don't see it with MP. So, How and Can you advance in the MP as an Officer?
2. I plan on going become an Officer through Army ROTC and then going to (31A) MPO as stated above. Can I do this or are there selection processes to get "chosen" to be active duty? I can do OCS if I need to.

Answer 1

1: not how it works. one, about 10% of all career officers ever make General. 2, you don't get to choose your field. 3: Up or Out is the mantra. you must advance/promote in a timely fashion( anywhere from 18 months to 5 years, depending on rank) and failure to do so means you are politely asked to find another job as a civilian. in other words, THEY decide whether or not you get to retire.



2: again, not how it works. your place on the OML dictates what MOS you are assigned, and furthermore dictates whether you are permitted to go Active Duty. Needs of the Army that year dictate how many open slots ROTC has to fill. my cousin just graduated the Point as an MP, but I have no idea if there were any leftover slots for alternative commissioning sources. OCS is the very LAST source for officers in any Field.



say the Army decides they want 50 new Butter bars in MP. 35 Cadets at the USMA list it on their preference sheet, so they get it. 12 AROTC cadets list it on THEIR preference sheet and they qualify so they are awarded it. that leaves 3 OCS cadets nationally lucky enough to get selected. oh, and FTR, many OCS boards choose to not take ANYONE despite being qualified on paper. or to only select one or two even though there may be more slots to fill.

Answer 2

Officers don't pick their jobs. You would list 10 bean he's that you want, three of which must be combat. Then the Army decides what Jon you get.



Getting promoted to Captain is more or less automatic, but not guaranteed. To get to the rank of Major or above, you have to prove that you're worth being promoted. There are few MP generals, so you'd have to show you're the crème de la crème to even have a shot at that rank.

Answer 3

mp's are set up with platoons, companies, battalions and brigades just like Infantry is