Army Vet With Question About Leo Work In South Fla

[hialeahmanny]

hey guys sorry to be posting a dumb question on here but i would really like to get feedback from LEO's out there that might be able to help me.
ok first off i'm currently a staff seargent in the Army with 101st Airborne (infantry squad leader). i've spent most of my time as an infantry scout and spent a year with 3/20th sf group when it was in ft.lauderdale. i have 4 combat deployments but my enlistment is ending and i've always wanted to be a LEO in south florida(i'm from hialeah). i had a break in service before for a couple of years and went to college and worked as a loss prevention officer for 3 years.
ok so now that u have some backround here's my question. when i was a teenager about 16 i hanged around an older crowd an made some mistakes and tried drugs marijuana about 5-7 times and cocaine about 3-4 times. i also tried steroids for a short time when i was 21. i hate that i made these mistakes but i grew up in a tough neighborhood in hialeah(right by seminola) and i know that thats not an excuse but i was young and i think i've paid my dues now. i also have to add that i was arrested twice in my life once when i was 16 for shoplifting misdemeanor and once when i was 20 for underage drinking 2 days before my second combat deployment. the judge through out my case.
now working as a LEO has been my dream for ever for a little while i veared from the path but i wanted to put myself through the academy at MDCC paying for it with my GI Bill. now please help me make a desicion i want to go home and follow my dream but i'm worried that no one will ever hire me. i have plenty of offers and opportunities to stay here in the Army but i really want to go home and work as an LEO. also i'm 28 now. thank you

[NYPO]

Well although it is not impossible, If I were a background investigator I would be very concerned with you. You tried steroids when you were 21, you are more than mature to know right from wrong and you chose to do an illegal substance. You did cocaine, also a choice you made more than once at 16 or older. You were arrested twice, and the last time was at 20. I sympathize with you because it was before a deployment but there are way to drink and not get arrested, whether its underage or not. You have made some very poor decisions in your life and especially adulthood. Most mistakes make in adolescence years can be overlooked but mistakes made in adulthood are rarely overlooked. Growing up in a "tough" neighborhood is no excuse. Basically what you are saying is the pressures got to you and you cracked and took the wrong road. Whats going to happen when you are arresting a drug dealer that has more cash in his pocket than you make as a yearly salary and he offers you the money to let him go? These are all things I would be concerned about if I were a background investigator. It will not be impossible for you to become a LEO but I think its safe to say it will be extremely hard. Good luck in whatever you choose

[NYPO]

Oh and something to add, you got arrested after your first deployment and after boot camp and everything else. Would show me that not even the military could straighten you out and make you think about your decisions. You even tried steroids after your deployments and after that arrest. Some things to think about. A department may look at you as a liability

[hialeahmanny]

first off thanx for the response. i appreciate your input. but i have to say i disagree with you. i know i did make mistakes after bootcamp and after one of my deployments. but i was still very young and i learned from my mistakes. after i got arrested for underage drinking and i had done the steroids, i left the military and went to college and i went and worked as a loss prevention officer for a large department store for three years without incident. i worked closely with law enforcement in a high volume store making about an average of 30 arrest a month. and i have been in many situations where a subject would offer me a bribe for large amounts of cash and NEVER did i take a dime. so like i said before i learned from my mistakes and havent slipped up at all. also sorry but im not trying to use where i grew up as an excuse i was just trying to give some instite as to my backround. i have many evaluation reports from the military and many awards to show the quality of my character and my values. i was just a kid that made mistakes..thanx

[KarlBerry]

I'm also a veteran and it definitely counts for a lot of points towards getting hired but with that criminal history I can say it would be extremely hard to get hired down here. It seems they want candidates pure as the driven snow, one of my buddies got DQ'd for a few speeding tickets so your record dosnt look to good.

[SJR1709]

You can get around certain things and chalk it up to youth, but it's pretty standard that cocaine use is an automatic DQ. I mean nothing is impossible but on paper your shakey background doesn't make you the most attractive candidate. I don't ever advocate any potential candidates to lie at any point in the process at all. In your case though unfortunately the truth will make it difficult for you to get hired. Good luck to you though regardless.

[hialeahmanny]

hey guys i apreciate the responses i have gotten and the PM's i've recieved. i appreciate all the guys who sent me words of encouragement. i asked for everyone to give it to me straight because thats how i try to tell anyone who asks me anything; i give them the truth. thats why i will not lie about the mistakes i've done, i'm going to give it to the departments i apply for straight and honest. hopefully they see past what i did when i was a teenager,and see what i did after the military shcools the training the awards and medals my secret clearance, everything. even working as a loss prevention officer for three years. so please give me your input i do appreciate it guys. even if its things i dont want to here i like to here the honest truth so thanx guys.

[hialeahmanny]

thanx bro thats why i'm really worried because the economy is really bad and theres tons of competition out there that haven't messed up like i have. i know having a great military record is good but i dont know if its enough to compete. i think if i do get out i might finish my college and get a bachellors in criminal justice. or might stay in a little longer and have more time between my application and my last mistake. i'm not sure. thanx

[hialeahmanny]

thanx bro i am. imy unit is giving me time off in a couple of days and im going to miami dade to find out whatever i can. i'm going to do whatever it takes. thanx alot bro.

[eyildiz]

Give MDPD a shot, they love armed forces, do you have a foreign language? (especially a rare one)?

[hialeahmanny]

thanx bro i already had them on the top of my list. the only other language i have is spanish its my first language. thanx for the input

[JTShooter]

I'm also a veteran and it definitely counts for a lot of points towards getting hired but with that criminal history I can say it would be extremely hard to get hired down here. It seems they want candidates pure as the driven snow, one of my buddies got DQ'd for a few speeding tickets so your record dosnt look to good.

Technically it only counts for five points (speaking of veteran's preference)

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With a record like yours, it's going to be difficult, but not impossible. Remember most departments down here compare you with other applicants, so you need to bring something to the table that others don't in order to be placed on the hire list.


Good luck either way.

[eyildiz]

Technically it only counts for five points (speaking of veteran's preference)

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With a record like yours, it's going to be difficult, but not impossible. Remember most departments down here compare you with other applicants, so you need to bring something to the table that others don't in order to be placed on the hire list.


Good luck either way.

its not +5 per deployment right? its just 180+ days anytime after 9/11 (active duty, not counting basic)

[JTShooter]

its not +5 per deployment right? its just 180+ days anytime after 9/11 (active duty, not counting basic)

Just 5 points for serving active duty.

Somewhere along the lines anyone who served active duty time over 90 days became a Veteran, and those of us who deployed became a "Combat Veteran"

Either way it's only 5 points...

[StudChris]

If you wanted a GOOD chance at becoming a LEO, you should have stayed in 20, made the mistake at 21 your last mistake with the law, and then you would have had a GOOD chance.

As it is now, you only have a chance. Actually, with a lot of places you don't even have a chance because you've tried felony drugs within 10 years. A lot of places won't hire you if you've ever done felony drugs, they don't care if you're H. Norman Schwarzkopf himself.

Also, you did one of my biggest pet peeves in the world, you asked a question, got an answer, then came back with "thank you I disagree." So basically, you don't want advice, you don't want answers, you want us to say, "You're a military man who cares how you messed up you're going to be just fine!!!".

Don't use your GI Bill to go to the academy. Use your GI Bill to go and get a degree. And don't do it in Criminal Justice. A CJ degree is worth little if you become a cop, and even less if you don't. If your passion is to do something with a CJ degree (teach... that's about it), then go ahead and get a CJ degree. However, if you want a degree for a backup plan, do something such as business, accounting, marketing... something that can help you out if this whole cop business doesn't work out for you. I'm not just saying this to you, I have the same advice to people who have been cops for 10 years and are going back to school.

And when you do go back to school, make sure your first class is English.

Good luck and thanks for your service.

[milcop88]

+1 StudChris you couldn't have said it any better....

[hialeahmanny]

hey guys i've been reading all your posts, and i appreciate them very much. just so you guys know i'm not trying to make you guys say that everything will be ok because i'm military. this is a forum; i asked a question i recieved some answers and i replied back with what i thought. now i might very well be wrong but i just wanted to have a discusion about this topic. i'm sorry if you guys think that i'm trying to make you guys change your opinion or whatever, but i'm not. i'm just trying to have a discusion. thanks for the replies guys i really appreciate them. thank you all.

as far as the comment about taking english class first, i'm not sure if your trying to insult me or whatever. but i made a couple of grammatical errors but thats because i type fast and i'm not really proof reading what i'm posting. so sorry about that guys. thanks