// Active Rating · MA · General Surface & Combat

MASTER-AT-ARMS (MA)

The Navy's law-enforcement, antiterrorism, and physical-security rating — every base gate and ship security force is led by an MA.

Rating Badge

Rating Code

Community

General Surface & Combat

Paygrade Range

E-1 to E-9

ASVAB Minimum

WK+AR=98

A-School

Naval Technical Training Center, Lackland AFB, TX · ~13 weeks

Clearance

Standard

Obligation

4 years

OVERVIEW

Master-at-Arms (MA) is the U.S. Navy's enlisted law-enforcement and physical-security rating. MAs run the gate at every Navy installation, conduct criminal investigations, train and lead Navy Security Forces, and provide the dignitary protection, K-9, and antiterrorism backbone of the fleet. Aboard ship, the senior MA serves as the Chief Master-at-Arms — the captain's right hand on discipline, brig operations, and shipboard security teams.

The MA rating is the Navy's primary feeder community to NCIS as Master-at-Arms support agents, and the rating runs the Navy's Military Working Dog (MWD) program from Lackland AFB through patrol, detection, and special-mission canine teams.

The general community covers the U.S. Navy's traditional shipboard ratings — deck, engineering, weapons, and combat-systems Sailors who keep surface combatants and amphibious ships in the fight. Sailors in this community typically rotate between sea and shore tours and are eligible for a wide range of NECs, instructor billets, and enlisted commissioning programs.

A-school for the rating runs ~13 weeks at Naval Technical Training Center, Lackland AFB, TX, where Sailors complete the technical foundation needed to report to their first fleet command. Entry requires the ASVAB line score WK+AR=98 and an enlistment obligation of 4–6 years. MAs advance through the standard enlisted paygrade structure (E-1 through E-9), competing in the Navy-Wide Advancement Examination (NWAE) at E-4 through E-6 and via the Selection Board at E-7 through E-9. Senior MAs typically serve as Leading Petty Officer (LPO), Work Center Supervisor, Leading Chief Petty Officer (LCPO), or Command Master Chief (CMC), and may pursue Limited Duty Officer (LDO), Chief Warrant Officer (CWO), or commissioning programs such as STA-21, MECP, or OCS.

Across the active force, MA Sailors are essential to the Navy's mission readiness, and the rating remains an in-demand career field with strong reenlistment bonuses (SRB), advancement opportunities, and pathways into Navy Reserve, civilian DoD, and industry careers after service.

WHAT MAs DO

Master-at-Arms run access control at Navy gates and piers, conduct foot, vehicle, and waterborne patrols, investigate misdemeanors and felonies under the UCMJ, supervise brigs and pre-trial confinement facilities, and lead Navy Working Dog teams. They train shipboard security teams in small-arms, riot control, and visit-board-search-seizure operations, and they run the Navy's Antiterrorism Officer (ATO) program ashore. Senior MAs serve in NCIS as MA Support Agents, in dignitary protection details, and as Command Master-at-Arms aboard major surface combatants and aircraft carriers.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Master-at-Arms run access control at Navy gates and piers, conduct foot, vehicle, and waterborne patrols, investigate misdemeanors and felonies under the UCMJ, supervise brigs and pre-trial confinement facilities, and lead Navy Working Dog teams. They train shipboard security teams in small-arms, riot control, and visit-board-search-seizure operations, and they run the Navy's Antiterrorism Officer (ATO) program ashore. Senior MAs serve in NCIS as MA Support Agents, in dignitary protection details, and as Command Master-at-Arms aboard major surface combatants and aircraft carriers.
Stand watches and qualify on the rating's Personnel Qualification Standards (PQS), maintain training jackets, and mentor junior MAs as required by the chain of command.
Lead the MA work center as Leading Petty Officer or Work Center Supervisor — managing maintenance documentation in 3M/MFOM, parts ordering, and personnel qualifications.
Support general military training (GMT), damage control, force protection, and watch-bill assignments common to every Sailor regardless of rating.

HISTORY

Master-at-Arms is one of the oldest titles in naval service, dating to the 17th-century Royal Navy where the senior petty officer trained the crew in cutlass and pistol and enforced shipboard discipline. The U.S. Navy carried the title as a billet from its founding in 1775. The modern MA rating was reestablished as a formal rating in 1973 to give the Navy a dedicated career-long enlisted law-enforcement specialty after the post-Vietnam disestablishment of the earlier rating.

In the wake of the 2000 USS Cole bombing in Aden, Yemen, the MA rating expanded dramatically to staff the Navy's hardened Force Protection and antiterrorism mission. Today MAs man harbor patrol craft, lead expeditionary security squadrons, and stand the watch at every Navy gate worldwide.

TRAINING PIPELINE

1. Recruit Training (Boot Camp)~10 weeks
Naval Station Great Lakes, IL
Initial entry training for all U.S. Navy enlisted Sailors at the Navy's only boot camp.
2. Master-at-Arms A-School~13 weeks
Naval Technical Training Center, Lackland AFB, TX
Initial rating-skills training for MA accessions.
3. Fleet / Operational TourFirst sea or operational tour
Navy installation gates and pier security
On-the-job training and qualifications in the MA rating with a fleet unit.

TYPICAL CAREER PATH

E-1/E-3
Apprentice MA
Complete A-school at Lackland; first tour as a patrolman at a Navy installation.
E-4/E-6
Petty Officer MA
Lead patrol shifts, qualify as K-9 handler, harbor patrol coxswain, or NCIS support agent; serve afloat as ship's security force.
E-7+
Chief Master-at-Arms
Operations chief of an installation security department, COB-equivalent for security squadrons, or Command MA aboard a CVN.

TYPICAL PLATFORMS & UNITS

Navy installation gates and pier security
Aircraft carriers and large surface combatants (security force)
Naval Security Forces and harbor patrol
Military Working Dog kennels worldwide

EXAMPLE NECs

MA-0814 Patrolman
MA-2002 Working Dog Handler
MA-9545 NCIS Support Agent

How to address

As an enlisted Sailor by paygrade and last name (e.g. "Petty Officer Smith" for E-4–E-6, "Chief Smith" for E-7+). The rating abbreviation "MA" is appended to the paygrade in writing — e.g., MA1 Smith for MA Petty Officer First Class.

Prerequisites

U.S. citizenship and minimum ASVAB WK+AR=98
High school diploma or equivalent
Pass the Navy physical and medical screening

Common assignments

Navy installation gates and pier security
Aircraft carriers and large surface combatants (security force)
Naval Security Forces and harbor patrol
Military Working Dog kennels worldwide

RELATED RATINGS

HM · Medical & Dental
Hospital Corpsman

RELATED BASES

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Yes — MAs are the U.S. Navy's sworn enlisted law-enforcement specialists, with arrest authority on Navy installations and aboard ship and a primary feeder pipeline into the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).

Yes. After serving as a patrolman, an MA can compete for selection to the Navy Military Working Dog (MWD) Handler course at Lackland AFB and serve as a patrol-explosive or patrol-narcotics K-9 handler.

Most first-tour MAs are assigned to installation security at large U.S. Navy bases — Norfolk, San Diego, Pearl Harbor, Yokosuka — before rotating to sea as part of a ship's embarked security force.

SOURCES

Last updated 2026-05-02

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