# MP Camaraderie?



## Future Prodigy (8 Jun 2009)

I have a couple friends who are in the military and all of them talk highly of the camaraderie inherent in the forces. The problem is all of them are infantry, and it is very easy to see how that branch would have a high degree of bonding. What about other trades, do they have the same aspect of team camaraderie? 

For all my life I have been playing sports and camaraderie, and team fellowship, has become a huge component of my life. I have worked numerous manual labor, and desk, jobs but have yet to find this vacuum filled in the civilian world. In part I am attracted to the forces because of this aspect.

To be specific, I was hoping some mp’s might be able to give their opinion on the matter. Police are always said to have a high rate of comradeship – always talked about in terms of a family - and I have never truly understood that; the reason being that you patrol by yourself, and spend the majority of your shift doing stuff on your own (as opposed to say firefighters who spend their entire shift together).


----------



## Fusaki (9 Jun 2009)

> The problem is all of them are infantry, and it is very easy to see how that branch would have a high degree of bonding. What about other trades, do they have the same aspect of team camaraderie?



A friend of mine just returned from Afghanistan where he spent a tour as an infantry guy in the POMLT (i.e. small, isolated groups of infantry guys and MPs).

His opinion was that (some exceptions aside) there was a clear difference in mindset between the MPs who were ex-infantry and those MPs who were not.  His opinion was that it boiled down to this:  In the MP Branch, right and wrong is defined by the "rules". For example: If an MP is late for work, his friends will be less likely to cover for him. Some of those guys would write speeding tickets to their own mothers.  In the Infantry though, right and wrong is defined by what's required to help out a buddy. An infantry Pte is generally more willing to stick his neck out and risk bullshitting an NCO to keep his buddy out of crap.

Ironically, by the time an infantry guy gets really good at scamming out of things he's promoted to NCO.  It's then his job to use his knowledge and scamming experience to keep the troops in line, thereby maintaining balance in the universe.

It's important to note that the above is only my perception of the MP trade based on the stories my buddy has told me and my own experience with MPs in general.  I'm not an MP and I've never seen it from the inside.  Thats just how it appears to me from the outside looking in.


----------



## CorporalMajor (9 Jul 2009)

Future Prodigy said:
			
		

> To be specific, I was hoping some mp’s might be able to give their opinion on the matter. Police are always said to have a high rate of comradeship – always talked about in terms of a family - and I have never truly understood that; the reason being that you patrol by yourself, and spend the majority of your shift doing stuff on your own (as opposed to say firefighters who spend their entire shift together).


I am not an MP either but I have met quite a few of them.  They appear to be a tight knit bunch, not unlike othe policemen.  Being an MP is being both a soldier and police officer, so it's challenging, difficult and very dangerous work, and cops work in teams by nature of the job.


----------



## rocksteady (20 Aug 2009)

Well I am an MP and from what I have seen it is hit and miss...Some detachments are good and some are bad...It all depends...It is decent at mine...I have no complaints...


----------



## Gilbert B. (23 Sep 2009)

CorporalMajor said:
			
		

> I am not an MP either but I have met quite a few of them.  They appear to be a tight knit bunch, not unlike othe policemen.  Being an MP is being both a soldier and police officer, so it's challenging, difficult and very dangerous work, and cops work in teams by nature of the job.


----------

