The duties and responsibilities of the Master of Arms, MA3(E-4) in the U.S. Navy are quite varied and include:
MA3(E-4) Legal Duties
- Read and explain Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) Article 31 to military suspects
- Inform accused of charges
- Inform personnel of captain's masts/courts-martial (time, location, uniform) et
- Testify at official proceedings
- Enforce disciplinary actions awarded at courts-martial or captain's masts
- Determine probable cause for command authorized searches
- Inform commands of personnel detained in custody
Law Enforcement and Investigations
- Recommend individual sources of information (informers)
- Conduct authorized searches
- Conduct surveillance
- Identify narcotics and dangerous drugs
- Apprehend suspects
- Issue weapons and ammunition
- Conduct field sobriety tests
- Administer Breathalyzer tests
Evidence
- Secure crime/accident scenes
- Inspect crime/accident scenes
- Preserve evidence at crime scenes
- Seize evidence/contraband
- Mark and tag evidence/contraband
- Maintain chain of custody forms
- Preserve evidence chain of custody
Physical Security
- Control access points to security areas
- Stow weapons
- Safeguard keys
- Monitor alarm systems
- Test alarm systems
- Respond to alarms
- Monitor Master-at-Arms (MAA) communications systems
- Respond to bomb threats
- Transmit and receive with two-way radios
- Dispatch security personnel
- Conduct quarterdeck inspections
- Conduct gate inspections
- Conduct building checks
- Conduct security lighting checks
- Conduct perimeter checks
Vehicles
- Drive emergency vehicles
- Issue temporary vehicle passes
- Control official use of government vehicles
- Investigate abandoned vehicles
- Direct traffic (vehicle/pedestrian)
- Issue traffic citations
- Investigate vehicle accidents
- Determine vehicle speed with radar systems
- Inventory emergency vehicle equipment
General Duties of Master at Arms
- Monitor daily muster report for unauthorized absentees (UA)
- Control personnel lines (ship's store, pay, etc.)
- Monitor liberty parties
- Issue uniform deficiency slips
- Muster restricted personnel
- Restrain personnel
- Engrave personal property
- Conduct inspections to ensure sweepers, taps, and reveille are held
- Conduct security inspections
- Provide security escort services
- Provide assistance on crime control or prevention programs
- Shipboard brig security and support
- Process prisoners upon receipt
- Escort and guard prisoners
- Shakedown and frisk personnel
- Collect uniforms/government property from personnel discharged for disciplinary reasons
Technical Administration
- Prepare incident/complaint reports
- Prepare traffic accident reports
- Prepare voluntary statements (witness)
- Prepare civilian suspects acknowledgement and waiver of rights
- Prepare and process permissive authorization for search and seizure
- Fill out and process military suspects' acknowledgement and waiver of rights forms
- Fill out telephonic threat/complaints forms
- Fill out evidence tags (index or adhesive)
- Maintain and process desk journals
- Fill out and process field interview cards
- Prepare and process evidence/property custody documents
- Maintain and process law enforcement communications logs
- Prepare fingerprint cards (major case prints)
- Prepare and process non-government vehicle registrations
- Prepare armed forces traffic reports
- Process violation reports
- Prepare alcohol influence reports
- Prepare disposition of offenses reports
- Prepare complaint of stolen motor vehicle reports
- Prepare vehicle reports
- Fill out line-up acknowledgement and waiver of rights forms
- Prepare and process investigative notes
- Maintain and process interview/interrogation logs
- Fill out and process command authorization for search and seizure forms
- Fill out and process customer consent and authorization for access to financial information forms
- Process authorization to release medical information and records
- Inventory personal effects of deceased or deserted personnel
MA2 (E-5) Duties
These include all the duties of the MA3 (E-4) plus:
Legal
- Officiate at executive officer's inquiry (XOI)
- Maintain order at courts-martial and captain's masts
- Brief prosecuting/defense attorneys
- Inform commands of civil sentences awarded to personnel
Law Enforcement and Investigation
- Conduct military customs inspections
- Identify personnel by photographs, drawings, or line-ups
- Conduct and record interrogations and interviews
Evidence
- Safeguard evidence as evidence custodian
- Prepare and submit evidence/contraband for testing
- Dispose of evidence/contraband
- Conduct field tests for drugs
- Prepare field test reports
- Witness chemical tests
Physical Security
- Inventory safe contents
- Conduct physical security surveys
- Brief command on security programs
Vehicles
- Prepare report of abandoned vehicles
- Coordinate towing of vehicles
General Duties
- Implement key control programs
- Coordinate missing, lost, stolen and recovered (MLSR) programs
Technical Administration
- Register personal property
- Process civilian suspects' acknowledgement and waiver of rights
- Process telephonic threat/complaint forms
- Process Armed Forces traffic reports
- Prepare violation reports
- Process alcohol influence reports
- Process complaint of stolen motor vehicle reports
- Process vehicle reports
- Maintain and process evidence logs
- Prepare for disposition of abandoned, recovered, and impounded personal property
- Provide technical assistance in preparing report chits
- Process report chits
- Prepare confinement orders
- Prepare "Hot List" on items reported stolen
MA1 (E-6) Duties
Duties include all the above, plus:
Legal Responsibilities
- Officiate at captain's masts
- Inform accused of appeal rights
Law Enforcement and Investigations
- Investigate cases involving drugs, alcohol and irrational behavior
- Recruit individual sources of information (informers)
- Coordinate detector dog searches
- Monitor U.S. Customs inspections
- Conduct suspect line-ups
Evidence
- Package and mail controlled substances for testing
Physical Security
- Mark items with detection powders
- Inspect safes/repositories for security violations
- Direct riot control
- Review and report results of physical security inspections
- Develop command physical security plans
- Implement command physical security plans
- Develop plan of action and milestones (POA&M) to correct physical security deficiencies
General Duties
- Establish and monitor beach guard
- Monitor security guard force
- Brief shipboard shore patrol personnel
- Develop and monitor a crime prevention program
- Conduct a facility/activity crime prevention program
- Implement loss prevention and analysis programs
Technical Administration
- Prepare authorization to release medical information and records
- Prepare crime lab examination requests
- Prepare forensic examination requests
- Process forensic examination requests
- Prepare and process investigative notes envelopes
- Prepare and process field test results
- Review incident/complaint reports
- Prepare and implement security department standard operating procedures
- Prepare crime statistical reports
- Screen command investigative summaries and complaint reports for accuracy/completeness
- Prepare records for alcohol, narcotics, and drug tests
- Prepare reports/graphs of offenses
- Provide administrative assistance to other law enforcement agencies
MAC (E-7) Duties
The MAC (E-7) supervises/manages personnel performing above duties, plus:
Physical Security
- Brief command on additional security requirements for ships
- Brief command on upgrading threat conditions
- Brief command on employment of auxiliary security force (ASF)
Technical Administration
- Review investigative reports