At Their Service
NJSPBA Veterans explain what it means to serve
Terms like “brotherhood,” “service” and “duty” speak
directly to the character of the women and men in law
enforcement. They are also attributes that are inherent
in wearing another uniform. These shared traits trans-
late to what most describe as a “calling” to defend their
communities and fellow citizens. Yet for some, a higher
calling inspires a drive to put on a different uniform in
order to defend an entire nation – to serve in honor of
our flag and the freedoms it represents.
For generations, members of the armed forces have
found familiarity and fraternity in law enforcement
following their military service. It’s why this Veteran’s
Day, NJ COPS Magazine put out a call to action to its
members who have served, to find out just what that
term means in today’s America. Meet the NJ State PBA
Veterans who expressed their thoughts about what it
means to serve.
Mickey Colon
Union County Sheriffs Officers Local 108A
Marine Corps (Gulf War 1990-91)
In the Marine Corps, we stand by each other through thick and thin. I was recent-
ly sitting in a PTSD class with an old friend wearing these lapels of different sizes.
An older guy, about 60, walks by with a lapel. I don’t know the guy from a can of
paint. We say, “Semper Fi.” He stops, turns, says it back and shakes our hand and we
bond immediately. We’re always faithful, and our mantra is: “God, Country, Corps,
Family.” If you’re a Marine, you’re family. Above all else, we have to ensure this cra-
zy experiment of democracy that we have continues. And we’ll fight to the end to
preserve it. The meaning of serving is the fact that you step up. Law enforcement
officers, and firefighters also – all people who step up to make sure the public is
safe. The flag means everything. Following 9/11 there was a great pride in being
an American. Today, I still feel the same. We have to provide security and liberty.
Growing up, my family was on welfare. Now, I’m the first Hispanic Undersheriff of
Union County. Where else can a kid from the projects obtain a status and be a role
model? We can do that in the U.S.
Michael Devlin
Kenilworth
Local 135
Army (Central
America 1988)
Being part of something
bigger than yourself was
very rewarding. When I
first got into law , enforce-
ment in the late 90s, I was
an auxiliary officer and
two of my sergeants were
Marines. I was fresh out of the military,
and me and these two sergeants sat and shared war
stories – not how big and bad I was; more like the crazy
situations you find yourself in. I don’t think everyone
has it in them to serve. There has to be a calling in your
makeup. To say, “you take it easy; I got this.” That’s my
entire ethos – that’s who I am. My grandfather ran the
VFW, and I was there cleaning the building as a kid. My
dad was an immigrant and insisted he had to fight for
his new country. My 12-year-old son knows it’s a family
tradition to serve, and I’d like to think he’s going to. I
put the flag before all.
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NEW JERSEY COPS
■ NOVEMBER 2017
Dan Fay
Union County
Prosecutors
Office Local 250
Army
(Gulf War 1991)
There’s a saying –
“You don’t go to war
for your country; you
fight for the guy next
to you.” If you look at
the way the military is
combined with all rac-
es, religions, creeds,
genders, etc. – it’s like law enforcement. I see all my
coworkers as “blue,” as corny as that sounds. During
Operation Desert Storm, we dealt a lot with the Kurds
in Northern Iraq who had just been gassed by Saddam
Hussein. Not only were we able to do the job we had
been trained for, but to be able to operate and deal with
them and see all they’ve gone through. It was a valida-
tion that we were there for all the right reasons.