I had a rather unconventional and unique career in many ways. When I went through selection, immediately following the battle of Mogadishu, SOF was basically benched, doing little more than JCETS, training exercises in other countries. I had briefly been a cop already, following my time on active duty. I was working in law enforcement when I re-enlisted in 20th Special Forces Group and prepared for selection. Once I graduated the Q-Course, I had what seemed like a difficult decision at the time. Stay on active duty, or stay in 20th Group and continue a civilian career in law enforcement.

I opted to join the Chicago Police Department and remain in 20th. If this had been after 9-11 instead of before, I’m sure my decision would have been different. In retrospect though, I lucked into the best possible career path I could have ever chosen for myself. I was able to bounce back and forth between the police department and SF, and even took a years leave of absence to work for the State Department in Iraq as a contractor. This dual career gave me a breadth and depth of experience I never would have had otherwise.

From SF I got the most extensive and comprehensive professional development and training possible, far beyond what I ever received in law enforcement. I got to train US and foreign personnel in a variety of countries. I led American and foreign troops in combat. I learned skills well outside of the normal soldier’s realm, espionage and surveillance, breaching, CQB, and so much more. Even more importantly, I was allowed to train and fight alongside giants. Heroes every bit the equal of anyone from Chaucer, Mallory, or Homer. The finest group of people I have ever known.

But I got so many priceless experiences from the police department as well. I enjoyed an autonomy of action that would be hard to find even in the most plum of active duty SF assignments. I was able to work undercover, to investigate homicides and robberies, to conduct a sheer volume of entries and clears that combat experience in the military is hard pressed to match. I worked federal conspiracy cases against gang members and hunted down fugitives. I supervised detectives and SWAT officers. And although the conflicts were lower level than military engagements, I never would have matched the sheer volume of fighting I saw as a cop in the military alone. As the capstone to my police career I was able to bring the lessons learned from both careers to the Chicago PD SWAT team, where I finished up my career as the training coordinator.

Now that my retirement job is teaching firearms and tactics, I am incredibly grateful for the experiences of both careers and the lessons learned from each. It has put me in a unique position as an instructor where I can draw solidly from the lessons I learned from each, and contribute to the next generation of both professions, as well as civilians who depend on me to teach them lessons they have no opportunity to learn otherwise.