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        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Master Sgt. Phil Ryan takes notes in his office, Jan. 17, 2014, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. Ryan is the 62nd Airlift Wing inspector general complaint resolution superintendent and a reserve police officer with the Yelm Police Department in Yelm, Wash. In his Air Force job, Ryan often applies the investigation skills he has learned as a police officer. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Sean Tobin)Master Sgt. Phil Ryan takes notes in his office, Jan. 17, 2014, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. Ryan is the 62nd Airlift Wing inspector general complaint resolution superintendent and a reserve police officer with the Police Department in Yelm, Wash. In his Air Force job, Ryan often applies the investigation skills he has learned as a police officer. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Sean Tobin)
                
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        Master Sgt. Phil Ryan, collects a driver's information following a traffic stop, Dec. 14, 2013, in Yelm, Wash. Ryan is the 62nd Airlift Wing Inspector General complaint resolution superintendent, also a reserve police officer at the Yelm Police Department As a sworn peace officer, Ryan volunteers his free time with police department. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Sean Tobin)Master Sgt. Phil Ryan collects a driver's information following a traffic stop, Dec. 14, 2013, in Yelm, Wash. Ryan is the 62nd Airlift Wing Inspector General complaint resolution superintendent, also a reserve police officer at the Yelm Police Department. As a sworn peace officer, Ryan volunteers his free time with the police department. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Sean Tobin)
                
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        Master Sgt. Phil Ryan, 62nd Airlift Wing Inspector General complaint resolution superintendent, also a reserve police officer at the Yelm Police Department, writes a report after issuing a traffic citation to a speeding motorist, Dec. 14, 2013, in Yelm, Wash. Upon retiring from the Air Force, Ryan plans to work full-time as a police officer. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Sean Tobin)Master Sgt. Phil Ryan writes a report after issuing a traffic citation to a speeding motorist, Dec. 14, 2013, in Yelm, Wash.  Ryan is the 62nd Airlift Wing inspector general complaint resolution superintendent and also a reserve police officer at the Yelm Police Department, Upon retiring from the Air Force, Ryan plans to work as a full-time police officer. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Sean Tobin)
                
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        Master Sgt. Phil Ryan, 62nd Airlift Wing Inspector General complaint resolution superintendent, also a reserve police officer at the Yelm Police Department, monitors drivers' speed with a radar detector, Dec. 14, 2013, in Yelm, Wash. Ryan has more approximately 800 hours experience as a volunteer police officer. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Sean Tobin)Master Sgt. Phil Ryan monitors drivers' speed with a radar detector, Dec. 14, 2013, in Yelm, Wash. Ryan is the 62nd Airlift Wing inspector general complaint resolution superintendent and also a reserve police officer at the Yelm Police Department. He has more than 800 hours experience as a volunteer police officer. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Sean Tobin)
                
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Airman sworn to serve nation, communityPublished Jan. 23, 2014
                    
                    By Tech. Sgt. Sean Tobin
                    
                    
                    62nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
            **YELM, Wash. (AFNS) --***(This feature is part of the "Through Airmen's Eyes" series on AF.mil. These stories focus on a single Airman, highlighting their Air Force story.)*
Master Sgt. Phil Ryan received the call early in his shift. 
The emergency concerned a young man who was sleeping in a car in a grocery store parking lot. The man's mother and girlfriend were concerned for his safety. They feared due to his prior drug abuse and his state of mind, the young man was in danger of hurting himself or someone else.
Ryan, the superintendent of complaint resolution for the 62nd Airlift Wing's inspector general's office, responded to the call and located the vehicle in the crowded parking lot. As he stood by the open door of the vehicle talking to the young man in the back seat, the array of weekend grocery shoppers, busily going about their errands, slowed to a group of curious onlookers, craning their necks to see what was going on.
Ryan remained focused on the task at hand. After a lengthy discussion, Ryan persuaded the man to exit the backseat of his own vehicle and get into the backseat of the patrol car. From there it was a half-hour drive to the hospital where Ryan helped the man get checked in to be evaluated by medical professionals.
If this sounds a bit beyond the scope of the Air Force IG's mission, there's a good reason for that. Ryan was not responding to the call as a member of the Air Force; he was responding under his role as a sworn peace officer, working for the Yelm Police Department in Yelm, Wash.
While not conducting investigations for the IG, the master sergeant spends dozens of hours of his free time each month as Officer Ryan, patrolling the streets of Yelm as a reserve police officer. Not only does he do it in his free time, he also does it all for free.
Ryan has approximately 800 hours of experience patrolling the streets. Prior to those hundreds of hours of patrol duty, he spent approximately 400 hours training in the police academy. Again, all without pay.
Ryan said his Air Force career has both helped, and been helped by, his experiences in law enforcement.
"I find the two jobs complement each other well," he said. "Like law enforcement, working in complaint resolution involves investigative work."
Both jobs require the ability to quickly assess a situation and determine the best approach when it comes time to speak with someone who may or may not want to be spoken to, he said.
That experience came in handy, as evidenced by his ability to talk the lone man from the grocery store into calmly going in for a medical evaluation.
After ensuring the young man was in good hands at the hospital, Ryan returned his attention to the streets of Yelm. He spent a good portion of the early afternoon making traffic stops for infractions such as speeding, license plates not being affixed properly and illegal cell phone use.
"That's my pet peeve," he said, referring to cell phone use while driving. "Studies have shown that drivers distracted by their phones are 23 times more likely to be in a collision than undistracted drivers."
However, the majority of drivers he pulled over that day were let off with a warning. Even if he doesn't feel the need to give a citation, Ryan said it's important to get out of the patrol car and talk with people.
"It's just good community policing to be interacting with as many people as possible during a shift," he said. "Besides, you never know what you may uncover during an otherwise routine traffic stop."
That approach to community-based policing came to fruition later, when Ryan's shift drew to a close.
While speaking to the driver during a routine speeding stop, Ryan immediately determined the driver was under the influence of alcohol. The driver was arrested and placed in the back of Ryan's patrol car.
As Ryan drove the suspect to be booked into custody, the suspect expressed his confusion as to why he was being placed into custody.
"So I was driving under the influence," the suspect said. "What's the big deal? It's not like I killed someone."
The irony of the suspect's statement was not lost on Ryan.
"He doesn't even know what he doesn't know," Ryan later said. "That's the whole reason I'm out there -- to stop (drivers) like him from killing someone."
Ryan said he plans to work as a full-time police officer once he retires from the Air Force.
"This wasn't always something I wanted to do," Ryan said. "But after nearly 800 hours of patrol, I've learned that this is what I was meant to do."police 



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