Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

Good day to all of you. I have been reading through many of the other posts while waiting for my regerstration to go through and am quite impressed with the wealth of knowledge and willingness to part with it on the behalf of all of you.
A little about me. I'm 27 yrs old and am prior enlisted Marine Corps with an honorable discharge. I'm currently living in Sicily, Italy due to my wife, who is a Navy officer, being stationed here. I'm currently enrolled in a CJ online program. I have no criminal record beyond a few traffic tickets years ago. I'm also in the best physical shape of my life, so not very concerned with any PT tests, other than absolutely maxing them out:) The only real concern is the fact that my wife and I will have to move around every few years and am unsure if any department would be willing to hire and train someone who might not be there in three years. Hopefully our next move is going to be Seattle, WA as my wife is applying to school there for her doctorate in nursing and have the Navy pay for it. With any luck she will get follow on orders to the nearby hostipal there putting us there for 6-7 years. I figure the best way to get any good information is straight from the horse's mouth as it were. Any advise on this matter or any other free nuggets of knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance
David Schulz

You may get hired and trained initially, but every time you move, you will have to quit and then reapply at agencies in the new duty station city.

If it's in another state, it's very possible you'll have to go through the academy again each time you get hired by a new department.

And *eventually* that employment record will catch up with you and you won't be getting hired at new agencies anymore.

It would be tough. I don't know if you would get hired by the first one when they learn your wife is career Navy. They know you won't be there really long enough for it to be worth it for them to train you.

Thanks for the quick responses. That's kind of what I expected. It's really just getting hired the first time that I'm worried about. Do I have to tell them what my wife does or is it more of a 'if they don't ask I don't have to answer' kind of thing? I'm not trying to be deceptive or anything I just don't want it held against me because if things are going well for me it's possible that we may just stay in WA because my wife would be done with the time she has to repay the Navy for school. Also, if we do move I may try to get a federal job once I have the experience time under my belt. Any thoughts on whether or not any of this sounds like a reasonable plan or just wishful thinking?

They'll ask where she works, her occupation, etc. The background check is pretty comprehensive.

Good luck, hope you can work something out.

If the background investigation is done correctly they will find out. I have learned that you can't plan everything and that you are not in as much control as you think you are!



Be Safe.

Thanks everyone for the input. I suppose the best thing I can do is just drop all the applications and see where it goes. "A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow."

Thanks everyone for the input. I suppose the best thing I can do is just drop all the applications and see where it goes. "A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow."

First off, welcome to RP from the Florida Panhandle! And thanks for your service to our country in the Corps! Oooorah, and Semper Fi! :biggrin5:

Secondly, I would do like you're planning and just go for it. Sounds like your wife is well along in her career and is maybe around the half-way point, so it's not like you're going to be moving forever. At some point you'll be settling down.

Thirdly, I wanted to thank you for reminding me of the quote above, although I believe it goes more like this:

"A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week."
George S. Patton

A true classic!

Your background is great.

Your longevity at any one city isn't.

With the $$$$ it costs to train you , you would be a hard sell. If they KNOW they are very likely to lose you in a few years.....

Gentleman I thank you all for your very timely responses and great input. As I have just over a year left on this island I was wondering how soon would be too soon to start any sort of process. I'm not even sure that WA is where we will go from here as my wife still has to be accepted by the school and then selected for the Navy program, but it would be shocking if that didn't happen. So, even given the well known dangers of assuming, would any of you be able to give me some pointers as where to start and how much could be accomplished from outside the country. As always any help is greatly appreciated.

Good luck, Dave. Hope it works out for you.

Gentleman I thank you all for your very timely responses and great input. As I have just over a year left on this island I was wondering how soon would be too soon to start any sort of process. I'm not even sure that WA is where we will go from here as my wife still has to be accepted by the school and then selected for the Navy program, but it would be shocking if that didn't happen. So, even given the well known dangers of assuming, would any of you be able to give me some pointers as where to start and how much could be accomplished from outside the country. As always any help is greatly appreciated.

I would wait until she knows for certain she is going. Time estimates on hiring vary from department to department. It only took a couple of months for me from start to finish. However some places take a year or more. Wait until you know where she is going for certain then call the department you want to apply with.