FBINAA JANFEB MAG.2019

ACADEMY NEWS

F B I N A A . O R G | J A N / F E B 2 0 1 9

Cory McGookin

n Steve Lynch , NA Session 251, retired after 35 years of police work. His last day of work at Bellevue PD was 7/25/18. n Bob Vander Yacht, NE Session 267 retired from the Bellingham Police Department as of November 30, 2018. n Dusty Pierpoint , NA Session 213, retired from the Lacey Police Department as of October 29, 2018. n Jeff Schneider , NA Session 189 and Dominic Rizzi, NA Session 238, have both retired from Yakima Police Department. n Bob Lee , NA Session 204, retired earlier in the year from the Auburn Police Department. Additionally, my son, Camden, was born while we were in Chicago, and I eventually started looking for a job in the FBI that allowed me to have a better work/family balance. I transferred to the FBI Academy in Quantico where I taught new agent trainees for a few years. I then moved around in the Washington, D.C., North- ern Virginia area where I was a liaison with congressional affairs, investigated intellectual property rights crimes and cybercrimes, and worked in intelligence and source recruiting. I am honored to serve as the unit chief for the National Academy Unit. I hope to contribute to the program for the next 2-3 years and look forward tomeeting as many of the people associated with the National Academy Associates (NAA) as possible. I think it is al- ways important to recognize the person before the job title, so I typically introduce myself in that way. PRE-FBI BACKGROUND I grew up in Mishawka, a small town next to the better-known South Bend, in Northern Indiana. After high school, I enlisted in the Air Force and spent the full decade of the 90s as an airborne cryp- tologic Spanish linguist. After language school and other training, I was stationed in Omaha, Nebraska, for the first 7 years. There, I met Laura , a teacher for the visually impaired. We got married and loved living in Omaha with close friends. Subsequently, I seized a unique opportunity and was selected to transfer to special operations in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida. We moved to the Florida Panhandle where my daughter, Halley , was born. I spent the last 3 years of my service there as well as 2 more years waiting on an open seat as an FBI new agent trainee dur- ing slow hiring years. During those 2 years post military service, I worked for Raytheon and helped train airport security before the Transportation Security Administration (TS) existed. Next, I moved into development of training for multiple clients. FBI EXPERIENCE Like all of you, I will never forget September 11, 2001. It had a unique impact on me because, after waiting for 2 years, I finally got the call to get ready to enter new agent training as the FBI was ramping up special agent hiring. My first FBI office was in the Chica- go Division where I worked violent crimes and gangs in the western suburbs. Unfortunately, the work was plentiful, but I loved it. I give credit to my development as an agent to the officers in Aurora and other surrounding cities. I spent most of my time with them, and I learned the majority of my investigative and policing skills through their mentorship and friendship.

MY LEADERSHIP GOALS My dream was to teach leadership for the National Academy (NA). I started college while in the Air Force and collected credits along the way until I completed my bachelor’s degree. While in the FBI, I continued my education and earned a graduate degree in leadership. I’ve always been fascinated with leadership and want- ed to teach for the NA so I could continue to research and learn from the best of the best in law enforcement. That dream came true in 2013. I spent years in the classroom where I really came to understand the uniqueness of the NA and learned daily from the thousands of incredible people who are now NA graduates and NAA members. I faced a hard decision when deciding whether to promote to the chief of the NA instructors. This promotion meant I had to give up the classroom andmove into leadership. Ultimately, I promoted and served in that role for a couple years where I was humbled to represent those passionate and talented instructors who helped make your experience special. I never dreamed I would be asked to serve as the chief for the National Academy Unit and have the honor of representing this prestigious program. I started as chief with the current National Academy Session 275. I pledge to give it my best and respect the history and sacrifice of all those who came before us. Feel free to reach out to me for anything you need or to share any advice. Stay safe out there!

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PASSINGS n Roger Bean , NA Session 103, died August 17, 2018 in East Wenatchee at the age of 80. n Tom Young , NA Session 129, died on January 7, 2017 in Yakima. n Joseph Hatfield , NA Session 142, a retired Captain with Bremer- ton PD, fell ill at work in December of 2017 and passed away due to complications on January 23, 2018 n Bob Richey , NA Session 180, passed away in June 2018. Ed Crawford, NA Session 132, passed away on November 27 at his home.

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