 They say that a dog is man's best friend and having become acquainted with Arco, I can definitely see how that statement became popular. Of course, Arco's got another side and if you have criminal intentions at Andrews Air Force Base and happen to bump into Arco, he can become your worst enemy. You see, Arco's a military working dog and I'm Lieutenant Matt McConnell, graduate of ROTC Detachment 805 at Texas A&M University. Hill, I'm currently serving my first duty assignment as a security police flight commander at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. After spending a few minutes with me today, I think you'll become convinced that if you're looking for an immediate leadership role with intense responsibilities and the opportunity to supervise, a career in Air Force Security Police is definitely the way to go. Join me and see if you think you can handle the challenge. My job here at Andrews is that of a flight commander for both a security and a law enforcement flight. I supervise approximately 60 personnel, including three canine handlers and their canines. I'm responsible for both the security and law enforcement aspects of the role here at Andrews which entails various things from aircraft security to installation and control, to various types of small criminal investigations, traffic control, of course, protective security for distinguished visitors or VIPs at transit Andrews. I think the great thing about the security police career field is the fact that unlike most other jobs in the Air Force it seems, a security police leader is out there on the line with the men. I spend very little time in the office at a desk doing administrative or managerial things. We all view ourselves as leaders and lead from the front in this career field. If you're looking for a desk job, you probably need to go back to the drawing board. The cop field is not for you, but if you like a lot of action, well, take a look. Of course, all our days aren't just crazy, but most of the ones that end in Y tend to be. Our emergency services team is one of the best in the Air Force. Each security police quarter has what's called an emergency services team, which in civilian terms is similar to that of a SWAT team. A potential situation might be a barricaded hostage somewhere or an aircraft hijacking that the unit has gone through some special training and tactics and knows how to specifically handle each of those situations. An Air Force Air Base ground defense unit operates similar to that of a US Army MP company. And essentially we set up around a forward deployed air base and provide security for that air base and its critical assets based on the principles we want. We look for protective service detail for any type of distinguished visitor. Basically our role is to protect both the visitor and the aircraft while they're departing or arriving for the entrance. And that's basically accomplished by controlling entry to the area as well as just visually inspecting the surrounding area while the distinguished visitor is here. As far as I know, security police is the only career that gives second lieutenants such high degrees of responsibility. Most of my fellow second lieutenants are lucky to supervise one other person. I supervise 60, in addition to being responsible for security around numerous VIP aircraft. I've gotten the opportunity to see all different kinds of people from different countries and of course from our country, the president and various people like that. As a security police flight commander here at Andrews, I'm also responsible for a 44 man air base ground defense team which may be deployed either for exercises or for real world situations, crisis emergencies or combat operations to anywhere around the world. We of course spend a great deal of time practicing for real world emergencies be they fuel spills or aircraft problems or bomb threats. And when one of these situations actually occurs and we get to respond and utilize our training and are successful in dealing with the situation, that's a really rewarding feeling to resolve a situation knowing that you did exactly what you were training and everything off just as planned. ROTC prepared me for the challenge by building my confidence, honing leadership skills and giving me experience in managing diversity. Those experiences enabled me to build a cohesive fighting unit and the group is very background. I've gained so much experience, so much knowledge for those years that still apply to my day to day life in the military and my personal life. One of the things they taught me was of course time management and a little bit about taking responsibility for both yourself and your subordinates. As I said I have 60 personnel assigned from all different sorts of uprains, backgrounds, cultures and different ethnic groups and it's very challenging and very rewarding to bring all these people together in order to build a cohesive fighting unit. I think anyone enrolled in ROTC or thinking about becoming enrolled in ROTC is definitely on the path to success. Even if you don't think about making a military career, serving four years in any of the services, especially in the Air Force I think, give you great experience, give you the opportunity to lead people, to learn how to manage people and develop various different skills that are marketable either in the civilian world or in the military. I have several different goals if I choose to stay in the Air Force and make it a career. One of course is to become a commander of a squadron, a security police squadron. Another thing I'd like to do is definitely deploy with my 44 man team to various spots around the world be it on exercises or in real world operations. ROTC was a challenge but it proved to be a worthwhile one. By working hard now, your active duty experience can be as exciting and rewarding as mine is.