Retired Fire Captain Graduates Detention Officer Basic Training, Wins ‘Honor Graduate’ Award
It shouldn't come as any surprise.
When Captain Patrick McJunkin retired from Casper Fire-EMS after 25 years, he could have gone quietly into that good night (and by 'good night' we mean retirement; not, like, death). He could have taken a coconut filled with rum to the beach and laid in the sand all day. But he didn't do that. McJunkin decided to embark on a whole new career; one in which he could still help people.
He became a deputy with the Natrona County Sheriff's Office.
That was in August of 2022. Since then, Deputy McJunkin (as he is now known) has been putting in the time at the NCSO. He's been paying his dues and learning the ropes.
Recently, McJunkin spent six weeks training at the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy in Douglas, Wyoming.
Unsurprisingly, he won top honors.
That's according to a Facebook post from the Natrona County Sheriff's Office.
"This morning, Deputy McJunkin and Deputy Tennant graduated from Detention Officer Basic #23A103 at the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy in Douglas, Wyoming," the NCSO wrote in the Facebook post. "Deputy McJunkin was awarded the Top Physical Fitness Award, and the Honor Graduate Award - The highest honor presented by WLEA. After six weeks of hard work and dedication to their training, we’re very happy to have them back. Help us congratulate them both on a job well done!"
It didn't surprise the NCSO that McJunkin won top honors. He came onto the force with something of a legacy, before he even put on the badge. McJunkin wanted to challenge himself when he chose to become a deputy; he wanted to prove that he could be just as good at that as he was at fighting fires.
"There's always something and always a way that you can learn to do something better, to help out better," Deputy McJunkin told K2 Radio News in a previous story. "And it really is a career long, a lifelong, philosophy. My guys are teaching me things as I'm going out the door 25 years later. You never know absolutely everything that there is; there's always something that you can learn that can make you just a little bit better each day. That's been the truth for me: every single day, right up to the day that I'm retiring, I'm learning something new."
Read More: He Won the Fight: One Night Before His Retirement, Captain Patrick McJunkin Fights One Last Fire
McJunkin has never stopped learning. He's based an entire second career on learning something new. Some people are just born to do certain jobs. McJunkin was born to serve and, when given the opportunity to prove himself, he does so. Every single time.
It's unclear if McJunkin will spend another 25 years in this line of work but, if he does, he will surely prove himself to be an elite deputy...He may even become a captain again.
It wouldn't surprise anybody.