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AUGUST 2017 LAW ENFORCEMENT TECHNOLOGY 13 © iStock.com How to Hire and Train Military Veterans Experienced law enforcement officers are hard to come by—consider the vet by Chad Storlie difficult. There are probably military veterans that you can find already in your community, and you may be close to local bases. ■ Do not be overly concerned with prior military occupation specialty (MOS). Do not place a great deal of unnecessary military criteria into your search for LE candidates for your department. For example, if you only want senior Special Forces Weapon Sergeant (MOS 18B), your pool of candidates will be very low. Instead, look for all military veteran candidates and screen them on their own experiences and criteria. You may discover a fuel truck driver that served as a military policeman as an additional duty in Baghdad. ■ Look for signs of not adapting. Each department has its own culture, com- munity considerations, and unique style. Just because they are a mili- tary veteran, they may not be an ideal choice for your department. This screening is critical because T R A I N I N G A N D O F F I C E R S A F E T Y M ilitary veterans seem like a natural fit for the law enforce- ment community. In many ways, they are. Dedication, a sense of service, and under- standing the value of commu- nity, are all ways that military veterans can, do, and will play a signifi- cant role in LE. The greatest advantage that the community possesses in the hir- ing of military veterans is that it extends the sense of purpose that military veterans held dear during their period of military service. Military veterans from any branch of service during either wartime or peacetime describe how their sense of purpose from military service was one of the elements they missed the most from their transition to a civilian career from a military career. Law enforce- ment needs to highlight the sense of purpose that comes with the role that serves, protects, and defends the civilian community while at the same time taking advantage of military skills that can benefit the department. Finding a military veteran(s) to apply to your department will not be very