As the Army celebrates Women's Equality Day, one woman in the 99th Regional Support Command is working diligently to establish the only civilian Criminal Investigations Office in the United States Army Reserves.
Special Agent Tiffani Rollison, former military police officer and current Senior Criminal Investigator for the 99th RSC's 13 state northeast region, is the tip of the spear for the local Directorate of Emergency Services.
"I support them by doing the background checks for personnel security," Rollison explained. "I have a lot of liaisons with other agencies, for example the Joint Terrorism Task Force, so I have a better understanding of what they do."
From background investigations to crime scene analysis, Rollison works closely with state and local law enforcement agencies to resolve cases as quickly as possible.
"The state and local police have a better understanding of what the military does when they work with me," Rollison clarified. "A lot of these agencies don't have the knowledge. They don't understand that crime goes on in the military as well."
Rollison continued, "A lot of these incidents happen while the soldiers are not on duty, not in uniform, out during the civilian portion of their life so it helps to have someone there who knows what goes on with military issues."
Law enforcement is more than just a job for Rollison; her zeal for her profession translates into joy as she completes each case.
"I've always wanted to be in law enforcement, it's just a passion of mine," she said.
Rollison has an impressive resume in the law enforcement field. She holds an associate's degree in Criminal Justice from Central Texas College, spent seven years on active duty as a military police officer, has worked for the Department of Defense for 9 years and even found herself on a 6-month assignment to the presidential security detail.
While serving as a narcotics detection/patrol dog handler as an MP, Rollison also had the opportunity to combine her love of animals with her passion for law enforcement.
"When I was younger, my two choices for a profession were to be a veterinarian or to go into law enforcement," said Rollison. "Working as a canine officer gave me the best of both worlds."
Rollison left active military service in 2000, but continued working with the Department of Defense in a civilian capacity as an explosives detection dog handler at Ft. Monmouth, N.J., a job that eventually led her to assist in presidential security as well.
"When you are a military working dog handler, regardless of whether you are civilian or military, you belong to Department of the Army... the Secret Service just requested support and I got tasked out," Rollison said.
In coming to the 99th RSC, Rollison will lose the opportunity to work with canines she loves.
"The Air Force does it here, active duty Air Force," she explained. "We tried!"
Although she misses her canine partners, she does appreciate the value of her new friends in the 99th.
"I miss the camaraderie of law enforcement, but these guys here are really great, they work hard and are establishing a name for the 99th in everything they do."
Besides leaving the familiarity of an all law enforcement assignment behind, setting up a brand new civilian office and establishing her position in the RSC has been a challenge for Rollison.
"Acquiring all the equipment I need... I used all my contacts. I cover 13 states and half of them don't even know about me. Getting my name out there has been a challenge," she explained.
Along with challenges come rewards though, and in her six months here Rollison has had significant successes. Aside from assisting with clearances, she has worked on more than 15 active cases and has been able to close out at least eight of those.
Balancing her career with her job as a wife and mother has also been a challenge for Rollison, but one she and her husband embrace.
"He's a DoD law enforcement officer, he works mids, I work days, he has rotating weekends off so the summer is tough for us because we don't use day care," she explained. "But we make it work. He sleeps in the living room when I am working so he is there with them , and when he comes to work we swap the kids and I bring them to soccer, football, cheerleading, wherever they have to go. It's tough but we make do."
Rollison also points out that she works in a male dominated career field, and while that is a challenge for her as a mom, she has a passion for her work that makes it worthwhile.
"I'm a mom, trying to balance my family life with the job, I see the perception that 'she's a woman, she can't do this and that, and how's she going to keep up with us'' but I haven't had any complaints. I don't think I have anything to prove to anybody, but I want to show that I can do it."
Along with setting up her office at the 99th headquarters, Rollison is also committed to developing a Crime Prevention Program for the entire 13 state region under her care.
"It's like a neighborhood watch, literature, crime prevention, reporting procedures, it's just so people are aware of what's going on around them."
Rollison also outlined the career benefits of participating in the program.
"Each unit will be able to have crime prevention officers and most definitely that becomes an important position within the command and a rateable bullet on an NCOER."
From mom to Special Agent, Rollsion has this parting advice:
"Behave when you are working, behave when you aren't working. Every civilian law enforcement arrest that happens with a Reservist, I get a call on. I basically have to do a follow-up, get the police report, forward the commander's action through the chain of command, report what action the commander took... behave and keep your family and your career safe!"
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