Photo By Maj. Thomas Piernicky | Police Officer Michael Pernell stands next to a new Ford Interceptor Utility SUV on...... read more read more
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A man in dark clothes, wearing a gun on his hip circles the black SUV and closely scrutinizes the vehicle. He checks to make sure no one is in the SUV before opening the door and doing a quick check of the vehicle’s contents. All of this takes place just a few yards from the Robstown Police Department in Robstown, Texas, a city of nearly 12,000 citizens with high rates of violent crime such as aggravated assault and murder.
The dark clothed man is Michael Pernell, a police officer with the Robstown Police Department and he is conducting a post patrol inspection of his Ford Interceptor Utility SUV. Although Pernell is just finishing his patrol, he is already thinking of his weekend plans to drill with his Army Reserve unit in Corpus Christ, Texas. When he is not protecting the streets of Robstown, Pernell can be found workings as human resources officer with the 211th Regional Support Group.
Pernell lives a life of service both to his community and to his nation by serving as a police officer and as an Army Reserve soldier. Pernell said he felt the urge to serve and credits his parents for his decision to join the Army. “Both of my parents were military officers, so I am kind of following in their footsteps and being in the Reserves gives me an opportunity to be a police officer at the same time,” said Pernell.
“For me it is really just being part of something bigger than myself,” said Pernell.” Being a police officer, you know you serve the community or area that you live in,” said Pernell.
“And in the Army Reserves I am still able to serve my country at the same time which was important to me when making the decision to go Reserves,” said Pernell.
To understand his desire to serve his community, one must go back to Pernell’s childhood. “What really started it was as a kid we played cops and robbers and I was always the cop,” said Pernell.
“Then when I got to college, I met a police officer for Corpus Christi who officiates basketball and I went on a ride along with him one time and I was hooked,” said Pernell. “He was probably the biggest influence of deciding to sign up.”
In 2016 Pernell graduated from Texas A&M in Corpus Christi under the ROTC program with an undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice. His decision to become a police officer didn’t come without concern from his parents. “At first they were a little apprehensive about it,” recalls Pernell. “My dad asked me, “Do you really want to sit in a car for eight hours a day?””
“But as they saw me going through the police academy and the transition, and my brother went on a ride along with me, they got to see what it actually is,” said Pernell. “So, now they are pretty supportive.”
That isn’t to say that some members of his family are without concerns. “My mom is a mom, she still doesn’t want me to do it,” laughed Pernell. “She worries about me, but I stay safe.”
Pernell has been with the police force for two years and is a certified detective. He patrols the streets of Robstown combating the typical problems plaguing the community. “Robstown is a predominantly high crime, high drug area so it turns into a lot of calls for service that rival bigger cities,” said Pernell. “We are pretty busy.”
Pernell says many of the crimes are related to illegal drugs like narcotics and prescription drugs. Such crimes often fuel other criminal activity as addicts are trying to get their next fix. “We see a lot of property crimes, vehicle burglaries, burglary of habitations, businesses, and just thefts in general,’ said Pernell. “I have seen everything pretty much. I have seen multiple homicides in one incident to the smallest petty theft.”
He recalled a recent incident where he responded to an active shooter call. Pernell was one of the first responders to arrive at the residence where the shooting began that left several family members dead, including a 13-year-old child.
Being a member of law enforcement can be challenging in numerous ways from how police are portrayed by the media on the nightly news to citizens recording everything an officer does. This leads to a lot of anger and frustration among the populace as such recordings often only show one perspective without telling the whole story. “I have had encounters where we are constantly being filmed, which is why I am thankful that my department has body cameras for us,” said Pernell.
“The hardest part is interacting with people on the worst days of their lives,” said Pernell. “You don’t call the police to your house when you are having a great day and everybody is having a great time. It is usually somebody is having a crisis, somebody is being assaulted or some crime has been committed where we are forced to investigate.”
Pernell said the challenges he faces in his civilian job are often like Army life. “Being a police officer is considered being a paramilitary lifestyle,” he said. “We do similar things in terms of security. There is not a set amount of hours for anything we do, it just depends on what is happening that day.”
Despite these challenges, Pernell recommends joining your local police force for those whom are interested. “It definitely isn’t for everybody, just with the lifestyle, but if anybody shows interest I would say 100% we need more help out here,” said Pernell. “We need help and there is a shortage across the county, so I highly encourage anybody that is interested to go for it.”
Pernell’s passion for the job and military background has caught the attention of his fellow officers and supervisors like Sgt. Benjamin Gomez, a 14-year veteran of the Robstown Police Department. Gomez says that Pernell’s familiarity with structure from his military background give him advantages over other police officers. “I see a lot of guys that did not have a military background come and it has to be taught to them,” said Gomez. “With officer Pernell it came natural; the structure of the police force, his need to have mores structure, that is one of the main ones I see in Officer Pernell that I do not see in other officers.”
According to Gomez, the members of the Robstown Police Department are grateful for Pernell’s service to our country. “I personally am, it is an honor to have somebody who serves our country to also serve our community,” said Gomez. “I try to help him out as much as possible and I know other officers feel the same way.”
Although his decision to join the police force initially came with hesitation from his family, Pernell’s decision to join the Army was easier for his parents as they and other members of the family had previously served in the military. Pernell recalled several conversations with his parents where they explained the benefits of being an officer or going enlisted and that allowed him to make his own decision. “They were actually very supportive,” said Pernell. “Both of my parents being products of an ROTC program and were able to point me in the right direction and help me make that decision.”
Pernell’s uncle was a Special Forces officer in the Army while his grandparents served in World War II; his grandfather was a fighter pilot and his grandmother did clerical work in the Navy. This family history of serving in the military carries on with Pernell as he serves in the US Army Reserve as a First Lieutenant and Human Resources Officer supervising a group of human resources technicians.
Pernell likes the flexibility of being in the Army Reserve versus Active Duty. “You are still able to serve your country and at the same time have civilian career in a totally different area of expertise,” said Pernell. “It just gives you another set of tools to use in the workforce.”
America’s citizen-soldiers are an essential factor to their community and military unit as they possess a wide variety of skill sets. These various skill sets are what make today's Army Reserve the most capable, combat ready and lethal federal fighting force in our Nation’s history. Pernell credits his military training to prepare him to be a better police officer. “It taught me discipline,” he said. “Being a police officer, you need to have self-discipline as a lot of our tasks are self-driven with very little supervision.”
“It helps my supervisor know I do what I need to do without him having to either be there or breathing down my neck,” said Pernell. “I understand you can’t be a cop forever, so it gives me another career field I can go into after retirement.”
Gomez see several effects the Army has on Pernell’s behavior and performance. He noted Pernell has more natural respect for command than he sees in other officers and is detail oriented. “He is very detailed when it comes to investigation reports, innovative ideas and perspective,” said Gomez.
This attention to detail is one many of the benefits of being in the Army Reserve that Pernell appreciates. In addition to discipline, Pernell feels he has gained several other advantages like learning to work with others and leadership training. “It also didn’t hurt that they paid my college,” said Pernell. “I would say it has been nothing but a blast and I am looking forward to the future.”
As Pernell looks toward the future of his Army Reserve career, he is eager to gain experience with the human resource aspect of it and eventually to get a command opportunity. “I love the challenge and to be able to work with others,” said Pernell.
Today’s Army Reserve offers great opportunities for those seeking new skill sets that give them an advantage in their civilian career. “I would definitely recommend that anyone that is interested to join the Army Reserves;” said Pernell. “It is a great opportunity to experience both having a civilian career and an Army career.”
“There are different opportunities for travel, even for Reservists to take different deployment opportunities or go on orders somewhere, “said Pernell. “You can still see the country while having something to fall back on.”
For those seeking more information about the US Army Reserve and how to become a citizen-soldier, please go to https://www.goarmy.com/reserve.html
The 211th Regional Support Group is part of the 4th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary). The 4th ESC is made up of Soldiers, civilians and their families in units headquartered throughout Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. As part of America’s Army Reserve, these units are trained, combat-ready and equipped to provide military and logistical support in any corner of the globe.
| Date Taken: | 08.22.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 08.22.2018 16:26 |
| Story ID: | 289861 |
| Location: | ROBSTOWN, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 369 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, A life of service in two uniforms., by MAJ Thomas Piernicky, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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