Army Guard general officer just another foot Soldier on Reno police beat

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Erick Studenicka | Reno (Nevada) Police Department officer Zachary Doser concludes an investigation into a minor argument in Reno, Nevada, in August. Doser – just one of two brigadier generals in the entire Nevada Army Guard – is a rank-and-file foot Soldier on the police force who patrols the streets of the Biggest Little City on a regular schedule.  

RENO, NEVADA, UNITED STATES

10.02.2019

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Erick Studenicka 

Nevada Joint Force Headquarters Public Affairs

By Sgt. 1st Class Erick Studenicka
Joint Force Headquarters

RENO – It goes without saying that Zachary Doser’s nickname within the Reno Police Department’s ranks is “general.”
But the fact of the matter is Doser – just one of two brigadier generals in the entire Nevada Army Guard – is a rank-and-file foot Soldier on the police force who patrols the streets of the Biggest Little City on a regular schedule.
Doser, 55, of Reno, is the weekday swing shift police officer on the 72 Beat, a midtown swath of Reno between Virginia Street and McCarran Avenue. For 10 busy hours, four days a week, Doser continuously patrols the area that includes some notoriously tough neighborhoods.
It’s not the assignment one would expect a 21-year veteran of the force to receive. But as he began his shift on a recent nondescript Tuesday, Doser seemed nonplussed about the prospect of policing some of the meaner streets of Reno solo in his 2019 Dodge Charger patrol vehicle.
“This job is often my stress relief,” Doser said, “It’s a different type of leadership out here. As a military general, I make decisions affecting 3,200 Soldiers. It’s more of an informal leadership out here, making quick decisions that affect the community.
“Both jobs carry tremendous responsibility – and huge liabilities.”
Reno Police Department Chief Jason Soto said Doser’s decades of service in both law enforcement and the armed forces make him a unique – and irreplaceable – community asset.
“To have an officer like Zach Doser assigned to our patrol division, which is the backbone of our department, is invaluable to me as the chief of police,” Soto said. “His vast knowledge and experience in both military leadership and policing make him a role model for both tenured and new officers alike.”
As the land component commander of the Nevada Army Guard, Doser oversees and manages more than 3,200 Soldiers in the Nevada Guard. On his beat, however, Doser is on his own – often the sole uniformed police officer within dozens of square miles.
Doser views himself as an “ambassador for the city” on the streets to enhance public safety and safeguard lives and property. There is no pattern to his patrol route as he relies on his experience and instinct to detect potential riffraff within his beat. He quickly dismisses the notion he has to generate income for the city and says it’s urban legend that the department tracks the number of tickets he writes and the arrests he records.
“Ninety-nine percent of the citizens appreciate us and want us around. Ninety-nine percent of the residents work hard, raise children and pay their rent,” Doser said. “It’s just the 1 percent who don’t like the rules who don’t want us around. It’s the 1 percent we usually interact with.”
Doser is quick to admit the usual calls on his beat rarely match the excitement of a police drama on television. In his more than 21 years on the force, he’s never fired his sidearm nor has he been fired upon. He said he travels to a call with lights and sirens blaring only about once per week. Doser’s shift is – for better or worse – full of loud domestic disturbances, traffic accident fender benders, and responses to petty crimes such as trespassing and shoplifting.
Despite the frenetic pace of incoming calls, Doser, a trim, angular 6-feet tall and 200 pounds, seems suited for his non-stop interaction with the public. Just two years ago, he returned to the streets after a seven year-stint as a detective. He said the disturbing nature of many of the crimes he investigated as a detective eventually wore on him and caused him to request a return to the patrol division, where he began his career more than two decades ago.
Not one to mince words with his military staff, Doser is remarkably patient during his encounters with Reno citizens and he allots time for everyone to give their side of the story. He gives the majority of individuals the benefit of the doubt and, if possible, likes to remedy a situation without an arrest or ticket. But if a trip to the Washoe County Detention Center on Parr Boulevard is warranted, Doser will load the culprit in the back seat of the Charger and head north to the center with the offender, lamenting how the detour will cost him time away from his beat as he drives.
Although born in Hawaii, Doser has had a longtime association with the Silver State ever since his parents moved to Sparks after their own military careers ended. He graduated from Reed High in 1982 and then attended the University of Nevada, Reno, where he majored in physical geography and joined the Army ROTC program. He received his commission in 1985 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in science.
An infantry officer, Doser then spent the next dozen years on active duty, including time in the combat zone in Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm. After attaining the rank of captain and spending a year at Fort Irwin, Doser left active duty and returned to northern Nevada.
Doser said an application to join the Reno Police Department upon his return to civilian life seemed a natural employment successor.
“The police department’s core values mirror the military’s core values,” Doser said. “Law enforcement and the military are similar fields – both have established rank structures and a defined hierarchy.
“The bottom line is the No. 1 requirement for both jobs is to treat everyone with respect.”
After landing his civilian job in the Reno Police Department and a stint in the military Individual Ready Reserve, Doser joined the Nevada Army Guard in 1999 as a Training, Advising and Counseling (TAC) officer in the 421st Regiment.
During the subsequent two decades as he rose to the rank of brigadier general, Doser held several highly-visible positions, including: 421st Regiment battalion commander (2005-2007); brigade commander in the then newly-established 17th Sustainment Brigade (2011-2014); and Director of the Joint Staff (2015-2017)
Doser said his most memorable assignment came in 2008, when he served as team leader for about 20 hearty Soldiers in the Embedded Training Team that deployed to Afghanistan. The team lived with, advised and trained Afghan Soldiers. (The roster from the Embedded Training Team reads like a Who’s Who in Nevada Army Guard leadership and includes current Chief of Staff Col. Cory Schulz and Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Spaulding.).
Doser noted he could relax more while in Afghanistan than while on his beat in metropolitan Reno.
“I am more aware of my surroundings here in Reno than in Afghanistan. It’s open carry in Nevada. Anyone can pull up alongside me at a stoplight and do anything,” Doser said. “In Afghanistan, we weren’t always on a mission. There were relatively safe places. It was not a job of dealing with crisis every day.”
Although he realizes he is in the twilight of both his military and civilian careers, Doser remains undaunted and seems perfectly content with his juxtaposed employment status that includes serving at the apex rank in the Nevada Army Guard and in a police position that many new hires gain straight out of the police academy.
“I love the patrol job and look forward to coming to work every day,” Doser said. “And in the Nevada Army Guard, I’m the land component commander. That’s pretty damn good.”

• Date Taken: 10.02.2019
• Date Posted: 10.02.2019 19:08
• Story ID: 345593
• Location: RENO, NEVADA, US
• Hometown: RENO, NEVADA, US