Abstract: For years, U.S. prison systems have struggled to staff their prison officer ranks. As such, many agencies have increased advertisements and incentives to specific populations of prospective employees. Particularly, military service member and veteran applicants are highly valued and often qualify for preferential hiring. Thus, it is important to evaluate the assumption that these individuals have unique skills and attributes that set them apart from their non-military background counterparts. Using a sample of newly hired U.S. prison officers (n = 673), this research compares officers with and without a military background on their self-efficacy related to teamwork, leadership, and interpersonal skills. Findings indicate that prison officers with military backgrounds have significantly higher self-efficacy in their teamwork, leadership, and interpersonal skills, controlling for relevant factors. Future research should expand the scope of inquiry into prison officers with military backgrounds, who now comprise up to 35% of the officer workforce in some jurisdictions.