National Engineers Week on February, 2025: national forest service police vs national park service park ranger police?
National Engineers Week 2025.
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National Park Rangers are any uniformed member of the National Park Service (NPS), a division of the US Department of the Interior and include naturalists, resource managers, administrative personnel and "visitor protection" rangers. Protection rangers do law enforcement, EMS, search and rescue, wildland and in some parks, structural firefighting, and resource (natural, historical and cultural) protection. They have a four year degree, usually in the biological sciences, or, in the case of seasonal (summer) rangers, are working on one. They working in one of the National Parks, Recreation Areas, Historic Sites, Scenic Riverways, Monuments and Preserves. Protection rangers wear a different badge than other rangers, and are armed and have gone through either a seasonal law enforcement training program, or for permanent staff, a 24 week course at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Glyncoe, GA. National Park units are administered by the NPS and the Department of the Interior.
US Forest Service Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) are sworn (commissioned) officers of the US Forest Service, part of the federal Department of Agriculture. Their primary duties are the the protection of the lands and resources of our National Forests and Grasslands, the safety of forest users, and the prevention, detection and investigation of criminal activity on the Forest Service lands, and are required to be wildland firefighter certified. Like NPS rangers, USFS LEOs have a 4 year degree, and go through a six-month training program at FLETC, and a six-month Field Training with senior LEOs in other parts of the country. Seasonal and non-sworn enforcement personnel are called Forest Protection Officers, and FPO training is incidental to their primary job, such as foresters, recreation technicians, wilderness rangers, and laborers. Although all USFS personnel are uniformed, only the district forester and his/her assistants, and specific wilderness and backcountry FPOs are called "rangers" in the Forest Service. Only LEOs carry issued firearms in the course of their normal duties, and their shoulder patch and badge are different than other employees. National Forests and Grasslands are administered by the Department of Agriculture/US Forest Service.
The Bureau of Land Management of the Department of the Interior and the US Army Corps of Engineers also employ rangers for law enforcement and visitor protection.
National guards in Pennsylvania?
Brit: Both the Guard and Reserves work on the same schedule: one weekend per month and 2 weeks active duty for training (ADT) per year. You should start as an E-3 in both NG or Reserve. Check the pay table at www.DFAS.mil or google: military pay tables for exact amount. There is also a Reserve pay table usually have to scroll down to the bottom.
Reserves/NG get paid 4 days for the 2 day weekend and 14/30 times base pay for the 14 day ADT. For an E-3 under 2 years, not much money.
Next is MOS. You go to the local NG Armory or Army Reserve Center (sometimes in same place) and enlist there. Reason: Each armory and Reserve Center have units whose mission is in a certain area e.g. combat engineers, armor, artillery, etc. If you do not get an MOS that is staffed at the armory or center close to your home, you have to travel and that can be over a 100 miles each way. You are not paid for this travel though you can get a tax deduction which is meaningless for a college student. That can eat up you pay very quickly.
Promotions - depending on which program you sign up for in the NG, you may not get past E-6 after 20 years. The Reserves is different for how high and rapidly you can be promoted over a 20 year period.
Obligation - you sign up for 6 years for both NG and Reserves. There is no backing out later. You are stuck and you cannot walk away if you get tired of the weekend drills. If you do walk away, you can be charged with desertation and be sentenced to the stockade (jail) along with a bad conduct discharge. This is a very serious decision.
Next: WHY do you want to join the NG or Reserves? Think about your answer carefully. If it is for college money, right now there is a program in the NG that will help pay for college. How long it lasts depends on Congress and if they solve the sequestration problem. The Service's budgets are being cut and that includes the NG. Something has to go and usually it is tuition assistance (already gone for active forces) and the NG college assist program - probably on the chopping block. These are not guaranteed, so they can go at anytime or be around forever - depends on Congress and where the budget cuts hit.
Best to you and good luck. Excellent question.
Lieutenant Colonel, U S Marine Corps-Retired (27 years service with a little time in active Reserves)
National University of Singapore??
..take a two-week vacation and get a feel of the place..it should be sufficient for you to discover whether you could assimilate into the culture of the place..
