Currently the USMS is only testing for military candidates from what I understand. This is for initial appointment to a federal law enforcement position only, also disabled military as well.
Former sworn USMS personnel can return to employment on an as needed basis with a LOR from a former supervisor and upon meeting the basis requirements for the background investigation, FIT and medical exams.
By former boss was the one who approached me about a year ago to come back, just after the 9/11 attacks. I put my paperwork in just before December and it took till now to jump thru all the hoops and get the final nod.
As for flying for the USMS, that was the very reason I joined them several years ago, but I quickly found out that most of the pilots we employ are former military with more hours than an albatross and has flown everything the military owns including the box it came in. One of the transport guys told me to keep trying but he was saying then, that I would need around 5,000 hrs to make the cut.
So I went on to a very positive career with fugitive investigations early on and just continued to CFI until I started doing small charters on my days off building some time to my current gig.
As for a typical day with the USMS, there is no such creature.
Being posted to Central and Southern CA. we always had something or someone to look for. 70 to 80 percent of your job was just plain ole footwork, knocking on doors, talking to people and checking up on any tips that may have come in thru any of our hotlines.
Occasionally we would get a federal warrant from the US attorneys Office that had priority for a reason or another and we’d move on it. Those were the adrenalin pumping one, getting geared up, moving quick on a suspected location, going in with a dynamic entry (no-knock) and taking down a federal felon or such.
It’s really awesome work, you feel as if you are making the community better because all of our arrest are felony arrests and 75 to 80% of them are bad guys on the run for parole violation, escape or felony federal charges.
The only downside is, it’s police work.
You get to see the worst society has to offer. Right before I left to go to work for my present employer I was involved in a raid in West Hollywood where we were looking for two brothers wanted on murder warrants, they had killed a US Customs Agent.
During the raid one of the brothers began shooting and killed his girl friend and two other acquaintances in the house. My supervisor and two LAPD SWAT guys had to shoot him.
I’ve also been on the trail of a fugitive sitting outside a motel waiting to make a visual confirmation, watching a prostitute go inside the room only to be robbed and murdered before we could get there and take the bad guy into custody.
Days usually ran from (normal hrs) 8AM to dark and on days with operations planned they ran from whenever the boss told you till whenever the boss told you. I’ve spent two straight days sitting in the back of a van, no shower, no toothbrush, nothing but you, your partner and a pair for binoculars waiting for someone to just show you his/her face.
I guess its kind of like being in a military unit that deploys a lot to a lot of hot spots if you love that kind of thing then the USMS is for you.
Oh yea…
They’re changing it around a bit, but when I hired on you spent your first year doing nothing but prisoner escort and working part time on fugitive investigations. Now they are hiring two type of marshal’s 0082’s for prisoner escort and 1811’s for investigation only so clarify this with HR before you sign on the dotted line.
SpeedBug
