Masters-at-arms keep USS George Washington safe on a daily basis. Learn more about what they do in this feature story.

"After three weeks, I fell in love with the Master-at-Arms (MA) rate," said Master-at- Arms 1st Class Lindsay Jazwinski, leading petty officer for the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) security department. "I loved learning all the self-defense in "A" school. It made me feel confident and empowered. I learned about the rules of engagement and how I could make a good impact on the law enforcement community. After years of being an MA I still love it and I'm glad I made the decision to stay."

As Jazwinski learned more about the rate and its importance to the Navy, her perspective changed.

"I originally did not want to be an MA at first; I wanted to be a fleet Marine Corps Corpsman," said Jazwinski. "That rate was not available at that time, so my recruiter told me MA is a similar rate because they are both first responders to incidents. So, I figured I would give that a try not knowing it had anything to do with law enforcement, antiterrorism, and force protection. When I got to MA "A" school I wanted to drop on request because it was not what I expected, but the schoolhouse's command master chief told me to give it three weeks to see if I would like it."

The MA rating provides the Navy with security specialists who perform antiterrorism, force protection, physical security, and law enforcement duties on land and at sea.

"As an MA, we handle all the security posture on the ship," said Chief Master-at-Arms Mark Collins, leading chief petty officer for George Washington's security department. "The biggest thing with being an MA is the feeling of gratitude I get from helping other people. I like to think that my family, friends and everyone aboard the ship knows that they can sleep at night knowing that we have the watch. We are here taking care of business, and making sure everyone is safe going to and from work."

In addition to the appreciation, there are also career benefits Sailors can receive once out of the Navy.

"The MA rate is a great opportunity to pursue law enforcement when [Sailors] get out of the Navy," said Master-at-Arms 1st Class Fredrick Tanner. "There are a lot of career paths you can take from command investigator, military working dog handling, to driving [law enforcement] boats. If you are interested and it's something you like, it's a great rate to get into."

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