FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kansas — A corrections specialist with 25 years of service has been named the Kansas Veterans of Foreign Wars 2026 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year.
Sgt. 1st Class Trevor Preston, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, U.S. Disciplinary Barracks Battalion (Corrections), Fort Leavenworth, was honored with the VFW’s Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award during a short ceremony March 12, 2026, at VFW Post 56 in Leavenworth, Kansas.
Preston was selected for the award locally, then advanced to win at the district and department (state) levels. He will be recognized with other department award winners at the national level as well.
Preston was nominated for the award by Lauren Annese, who is currently serving as Post 56’s acting junior vice commander. Annese worked with Preston in 2012-13 when he was the Special Housing Unit shift leader and she was a prison guard at the Joint Regional Correctional Facility.
“He was always very professional, very quick to help other soldiers. He was a good role model for everyone,” she said.
She has continued to work with him and note his accomplishments in her current position as a civilian, for which she conducts job interviews with inmates when they are to be released to help them reintegrate into society. Annese said Preston continues to demonstrate his dedication to soldiers and recognizing their achievements. When her fiancé retired but wasn’t given a retirement flag, she said Preston made sure that was remedied.
Annese noted in the nomination that Preston has dedicated his career to “protecting others, developing future leaders and strengthening the communities he serves… He has distinguished himself throughout his career by exemplifying integrity, professionalism and an exceptional commitment to duty. … His leadership and character consistently set the standard for excellence and positively impacted the soldiers and families around him.”
Preston’s service in challenging environments was also highlighted in the nomination.
“During Operation Iraqi Freedom, he served in key leadership and coordination roles supporting detention operations, investigations and intelligence efforts that directly contributed to the safety of both service members and Iraqi civilians,” the nomination read. “Through hundreds of missions and patrols, he demonstrated courage, sound judgment and a commitment to justice and accountability. His work helped ensure dangerous individuals were removed from the battlefield and that lawful processes were upheld during a critical period of conflict.”
Annese also recognized Preston’s contributions in the areas of organizational improvement, training and mentorship.
“He played a critical role in the opening and accreditation of major military correctional facilities and served in leadership positions responsible for safety, accountability and professional standards,” she wrote in the nomination. “As a master instructor, he trained hundreds of soldiers and civilians in self-defense and nonlethal response techniques, directly contributing to safer workplaces and communities. His mentorship enabled many soldiers to achieve educational goals, professional advancement and long-term success both in and out of uniform.”
Several of Preston’s other achievements were also included in the nomination, including being named Soldier of the Year at Fort Knox, Kentucky; Soldier of the Year at Fort Leavenworth; NCO of the Year at Fort Leavenworth; and NCO of the Year at Fort Lewis, Washington.
It’s about soldiers
Preston said taking care of soldiers and volunteerism have been important themes throughout his career.
“Part of what I learned at a very early age was about communication and caring for soldiers, and not giving them everything that they want, but giving them the things they need, and helping with their career progression.”
Preston said when he was a first sergeant, his unit did a lot of outreach and community service to get soldiers involved in the community and convey the message that there is more to being a corrections specialist than just working in a prison.
“That's kind of what I tried to help them with, is the things that I did … and having the leaders that helped me out throughout my career.”
He stressed the importance of pushing himself and his soldiers to experience service and education beyond the job.
“My career was kind of an anomaly, in the sense that I had a lot of key things that I was able to do that some people weren't able to, and primarily it was because I never turned down a chance to volunteer for something,” Preston said. “There's been a lot of fortuitous things that have come from (volunteering) for me, and that's one of the things I try to embody and help with, to push things along.”
Preston is currently serving as the program director for the Military Corrections Committee, a subcommittee of the American Corrections Association. He was nominated for the position and said he opted to put himself “out there” to serve in the role. In the position he is helping advocate for the value that corrections professionals provide to the military.
That is just one example of how supporting soldiers and stepping up to help over the years has led to the VFW recognition.
“It’s those things (like the committee) that people shy away from because it's either too hard or they don't understand it or may be just too afraid to do it, (but) sometimes you've got to step up and do that,” he said. “You'll find a lot of more self-worth and enjoyment in the things that you do when you go above and beyond sometimes — without sacrificing family and time.”
Preston is currently interning for Compliant Technologies as part of the Army’s Career Skills Program and has been attending the International Law Enforcement Educators Association Conference in St. Louis, Missouri, this week.
“Mostly I'm traveling to conferences and to agencies that are requiring training for the products, and I'm learning from those instructors on the standardization of training, and helping develop and build and revamp their training program, kind of (like) what the Army has taught me in my time as being an instructor in several places,” he said about the internship.
He will officially retire from the military this June, almost exactly 25 years after he enlisted.
“So originally, when I decided to join, I was already married. I came in just before Sept. 11th — I was actually in (Advanced Individual Training) for that one.”
He said he wanted to be a cop, but at the time in 2001, the opportunity for Military Police was in corrections. He was able to get both MP military occupational specialties, however, due to the way the class was designed at the time, and thus he has worked the road as an MP, done combat patrols in Iraq and performed several roles in the Army Corrections Brigade, including his last assignment as USDB watch commander.
He said the immediate opportunity to be a leader in the corrections field was what first appealed to him.
“As a corrections specialist, you're in charge of people as a private. You've got to tell people that don't necessarily want to do what you want them to do — because they're there for … crimes or whatnot that they did — and you've got to get them to behave and follow and maintain discipline, which there's not a lot of MOSs that allow you to be a leader at the very get-go of your career.”
Preston said he has enjoyed the challenge of the job, influencing inmates to behave, honing abilities in conflict management and de-escalation, and more.
“I stayed around a little bit longer than most people do in (this career) because I was having fun, and it wasn't necessarily about the job, it was the soldiers that kept me around.”
It’s about caring
Preston said the message he has always conveyed to soldiers is that they have to care.
“Caring is the biggest thing that sometimes becomes difficult to do,” he said. “If you've got soldiers underneath you that you want to influence and motivate them to be better than just coming to work and leaving after eight hours… then caring about each other is the No. 1 thing.”
Preston said he would advise other soldiers transitioning from active duty to use the opportunities available to them, such as the CSP and Transition Assistance Program, and to care about and find happiness in what they do.
“If you just come to work and you just do your job, but you don't try to better yourself or better the environment that you're in, you're not going to find anything rewarding.”
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