FORT SILL, Okla. (March 28, 2013) -- After retiring from the Army at Fort Sill in 2003, military police Sgt. 1st Class Scott Cox attended Cameron University and was on track to become a secondary school history teacher. He graduated from CU in 2004, and began passing his state teaching certification exams.
Meanwhile Cox started work as a law enforcement training officer at the Directorate of Emergency Services. He enjoyed it so much that he decided to stay on teaching the Department of the Army police force, instead of high school students.
"I love it. It's a lot of fun," said Cox, referring to his training duties. "I get to do a lot of research, and get to talk to other officers. I really enjoy that."
At DES, Cox, a DA police sergeant, and Sgt. Paul Ratzlaff, are responsible for training the directorates 125 police officers and security guards.
"We're like an active-duty training office at a unit," said Cox, who is a GS-6 (General Schedule) employee.
Training includes the M9 pistol and M4 carbine rifle, field sobriety tests, taser and pepper-spray use, active shooter response, emergency medical technician qualifications for seven of the officers, as well as any training on post involving law enforcement, such as a mass casualty exercise.
What's the most challenging part of the job?
"The paperwork; this still is the Army," Cox said. "We have go and no-go sheets just like Soldiers for 63 training tasks for our police officers."
"I like to stay current on police training and deliver a good product," said Cox, who retired as a platoon sergeant with the 40th Military Police Detachment. "I cannot stand repetition if there is something else you can do. I'm always looking at ways to improve training."
Cox's supervisor, DA Capt. Dany Sterling, deputy chief of law enforcement, described him as "very valuable to DES."
"He brings a lot of Army experience to the table," Sterling said.
Born in Morocco, Casablanca, because his father was stationed at an Air Force base there, Cox later moved to Germantown, Ohio.
When he enlisted in the Army in 1981, as a military policeman, he planned to stay in three years, and then apply to become an Ohio State patrolman.
"But I liked the Army and wanted to make a career out of it," he said. Cox also remembered how his dad who served a couple enlistments in the Air Force wished he had made the military a career.
Off duty Cox enjoys military miniature war gaming. He paints military figurines, places them in formation on 4 feet by 8 feet battlefields and then wargames. This can be recreating historical battles, but for Cox he prefers ad-lib combat.
"I like the French and Indian War era," he said. Cox said he also enjoys fishing.
Social Sharing