From Marine to Park Police captain: Timothy Hodge

Timothy Hodge met his next career at a veterans' booth on the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial. It was 1997 or 1998, he was an active-duty Marine volunteering there, and a mounted officer of the United States Park Police rode by. The same year, a recruiter came looking for Marines about to leave the service. Today Hodge is a Park Police captain in Washington, D.C.

Ten years a Marine

Asked which branch he served in, Hodge answers: "The one and only.... United States Marine Corps."

From the Corps to the Park Police

The recruiting sergeant was Ben Long (since retired), a former Marine himself. He called Hodge's master sergeant — another Marine he knew — and asked whether any good Marines leaving the service might be interested in federal law enforcement. Hodge and a few others went with Long on a day-long tour of the Park Police and its substations. Hodge joined in 2000.

One of his military specialties had been military police officer, and that, he says, is what drew him to a career in law enforcement. The Corps also prepared him for training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC), strengthened his leadership, and gave him the drive to keep moving up through the Park Police.

Now

Captain Hodge commands the Park Police's East District, which supports National Capital Parks–East in Washington.

Sources

Written from "Veteran Story: Captain Timothy Hodge," National Park Service; a work of the United States government in the public domain.