ASSOCIATE Magazine FBINAA Q3-2023

F irst and foremost, I want to again thank Cindy Reed for her passion these past four years while serving as the Associa tion’s Historian. You can tell by her articles that she was deeply connected to her subjects as well as her obligation to share historically significant events with all of us. I will do my very best to maintain her high standards. I’m a pretty private person and told Cindy I really didn’t want to bore our members with details about my background. She laughed and said, “Well, if you want to break tradition and not write about yourself in your very first article, I guess that would be ok…” I took that as a very police way of saying, “Write about yourself in your very first article.” Understood! I was born in southern California where my father was sta tioned in the U.S. Navy. At a young age we moved to Wyandotte, MI, which is where I tell people I’m from. (No offense, my SOCAL brothers and sisters!) After graduating from high school in 1978 I entered the U.S. Army and attended initial training at Fort Mc Clellan, AL., as a military policeman. Prior to reporting for my first duty station in Germany I spent a couple weeks at home and mar ried my high school sweetheart, Susan . She joined me in Germany right before Christmas. Two 18-year old kids thrust into a foreign land with no car, no money and big dreams! My intention was to serve one three-year tour as an MP, transition back to civilian life and find a cop job somewhere. Well, the Army kept giving me great jobs… military police investigator, MP school instructor, CID special agent… all challenging, exciting, and fulfilling. The last job took me to the Washington, D.C. area and I quickly learned I wasn’t paid enough as a staff sergeant to live there very long. Eventually, I applied for Officer Candidate School, was accepted, attended training at Fort Benning, Ga., and became a second lieutenant assigned to the Armor Corps! I was assigned to a training unit at Fort Knox, Ky., where I served as a troop executive officer and squadron adjutant. I then transferred to D Troop, 10th U.S. Cavalry – yes, I was a Buffalo Soldier! I initial ly commanded a tank platoon and then took over a scout platoon. While I enjoyed those roles my heart longed to return to my be loved law enforcement field and was eventually transitioned back to the Military Police Regiment. My jobs as an MP officer began in 1990 and included assign ment to the 18th MP Brigade in Germany where I initially served on staff in the 709th MP Battalion in Frankfurt. I then commanded the 564th MP Company. Upon completion of command, I was named Provost Marshal in Fulda and, when it closed down, I shifted over to the Provost Marshal job in Hanau. Upon return to the United States, I was assigned to the ROTC Program at Florida State University where I served as the recruiting operations of ficer. Surprisingly, I was promoted to major “below the zone” and ordered to attend the Army’s Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Following graduation from CGSC and a one-year tour in the middle of the Pacific Ocean I returned to Fort Leavenworth to serve as the installation provost marshal. While attending a community leadership luncheon in 2000 I met the former police chief (and NA grad!) and serving city admin istrator for the city of Lansing, Kan. Fast forward a few months and I retired from the Army after 22 years of service to become Lan Introducing Your New Historian! John Simmons THE HISTORIAN'S SPOTLIGHT

FBINAA.ORG | Q3 2023

sing’s new chief of police! Lansing was good to me – I was afforded the opportunity to attend the 215th Session in the fall of 2003 and became a proud member of the Kansas/Western Missouri Chapter. In 2005 I became the chief of police in Fairway, Kan., and, in 2011, won an election to become the chapter’s secretary/treasurer. I served in that position for seven years, stepping down in 2017. Many of you know my dear friend Steve Cox – he stepped into the position and continues to serve honorably to this day. Also, in 2011 I became chief of police in Mission, Kan. In December 2013, I retired from Kansas law enforcement. My real “work” with our association began soon after I was hired to become the first director of law enforcement and military sales for CZ-USA – a Kansas-based firearms manufacturer and importer. Getting our products out in front of key LE decision mak ers was imperative – and I was blessed to be able to attend and support a large number of Chapter Retrainers between 2015 and my retirement in 2022. Last year – 2022 – was a year of transition and sadness. I retired from CZ-USA in March and Susan passed away in April following a short battle with cancer. She retired from the Federal Bureau of Prisons several years ago and I looked forward to finally being able to travel leisurely with her. It simply wasn’t meant to be . This year started on the right foot. In the same week I was offered this position as historian I also met a wonderful woman whose late husband (a retired SOCAL sheriff’s department lieuten ant) died from the same cancer that took Susan. Hope and happi ness are once again ruling the day! Ok, now you know more than anybody ever wanted to know about me! I must say I am extremely excited to be the Historian. I hope to write about people and events that either are or will become historically significant. There are some wonderfully warmhearted events that took place in the past that are worthy of sharing. So too are some of the great deeds of many of our YLP graduates. During the recent Leadership Summit at Quantico, I had several members approach me with topics they considered worthy of note. I will do my best to tickle everybody’s fancy. If you have any suggestions/recommendations for future articles please feel free to reach out to me at jsimmons@fbinaa . org or simmonsj@rocketmail.com . I look forward to the next four years surrounded by the amazing people who make up this association! Blessings!

John Simmons FBINAA Historian

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