Meet Dan Short
Born and raised in Knox County, Dan Short joined the US Marine Corps in 1996 after graduating from Lincoln High School. After eight years of service to his country as a Marine, Dan transitioned to the Army National Guard and continued to serve for over twenty-one years combined. Dan has fifteen years of law enforcement experience. Currently, Dan Short serves Knox County as deputy sheriff assigned as a School Resource Officer.
Military Experience
Dan retired from military service with a combined service time of 21.5 years between the US Marine Corps and the Army National Guard. During his time serving his country, Dan deployed 3 times for a combined total of 25 months of overseas service. Twice, he was deployed to the South Pacific during peacetime with the Marines as the forward operating force. He was a member of Weapons Company 1st Battalion 5th Marines where he served as the Forward Observer Squad Leader as well as a marksmanship instructor. Dan also volunteered for a combat tour of duty in Iraq while in the Army National Guard. He served as a Personal Security Detail Squad Leader with the 49th Military Police Brigade.
Before the end of his career, Dan would serve in rolls up to being a Platoon Sergeant of Military Police Platoons. This typically consisted of 50 soldiers working under his leadership, but there were times the platoon strength would exceed 70.
Serving the country is something that runs deep in Dan’s family. His father served in the Air Force in Vietnam, his paternal grandfather served in WWII and Korea, maternal grandfather served in WWII, a great uncle was killed in action in the South Pacific during WWII, and another great uncle took part in the battle of Pearl Harbor on Dec 07, 1941. Numerous other relatives served in the military during war years as well.
Law Enforcement Experience
Dan is also a 15-year veteran of law enforcement. He was a police officer in Stockton, California for approximately 10 years. He has been with the Knox County Sheriff’s Department for 5 years. During this time, he has served in a variety of assignments to include:
Patrol Officer
SWAT team logistics officer
SWAT team operator
FBI certified Firearms Instructor
Rifle Team Member
Field Training Officer
Community Police Officer
School Resource Officer
Dan is a graduate of the Alameda County Sheriff Academy, he has completed and holds his certificate for the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy, Santa Clara County Sheriffs Office SWAT school, Alexander Global Strategies Sniper school, and he holds several certifications as a School Resource Officer to include a Practitioner Certificate through the National Association of School Resource Officers. At the time he achieved the Practitioner Certification he was one of only 7 officers in the country to attain that level of training, and the only School Resource Officer in Knox County to do so.
During his law enforcement career he has received recognition for superior performance of his duties on several occasions to include an award for the number of stolen vehicle recoveries and arrests, as well as a life saving award while serving as the School Resource Officer at South Knox Middle High School.
School Resource Officer & Community Involvement
While assigned as a School Resource Officer, Dan has made a conscious effort to be involved with the students. He donated several rabbits to the agricultural class so they would be able to begin their breeding program and learn about caring for and raising rabbits. This would also make some rabbits available for students to use to enter the 4H program that may not have been able to otherwise.
Dan also started a trap shooting team at South Knox that was a huge success. He successfully wrote a grant to the National Rifle Association that gave the trap team the needed guns, ammunition and safety equipment to get started. Our first year was a success, Terry and Laura Turner were the coaching staff, and once the team was up and running, they raised a considerable amount of money to keep it going. This program is still taking place. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first shooting team of its kind in Knox County.
Dan also presented the idea to South Knox of having a “Paint a mural in the SRO office” competition when he first began working at South Knox. It was a huge success, art work was selected and the SRO office now has a wonderful mural, painted by a former student, that shows the tight relationship between the School Resource Officer and the South Knox Spartans!
Dan is also a licensed HAM radio operator and an active member of the local HAM radio operator club. HAM radio operators have proven time and time again to be instrumental force multipliers during major catastrophes that take down normal modes of communication. This gives Dan great insight on how these resources can be utilized and who needs to be contacted to get them online should we need them. This HAM certification, as well as numerous training course through FEMA, as well as a great working relationship with the local EMA director, a solid base of knowledge to make him an asset to the community.
Dan is also an active member of the local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), that assists the local Helping His Hands Disaster Response, with recovery and response services in the wake of tragedies such as tornadoes, earthquakes and so forth. This is a volunteer position that Dan participates with, and most recently, he responded to Benton, Kentucky to assist after the devastating tornado this past December.
Dan also volunteers his time to serve as a member of the Knox County 4H council.
Family Life
In his personal life, Dan and Christie have been together for 14 years and have an 11-year-old daughter, Maddie, together. Christie is a registered nurse and currently employed as the school nurse at South Knox Middle/High School. Maddie attends school at South Knox and is an active member of several athletic teams as well as 4H.
After the military had Dan living in several other states and countries, he knew there was no place better than Knox County to raise his family. Dan and Christie moved home to Knox County in August of 2016 in order to raise Maddie, where Dan was born and raised. They have built their home here in Knox County and Maddie has turned it into a “hobby farm,” embracing the agricultural lifestyle of Knox. They have Maddie’s horse (Tango), three miniature Hereford cows (Ella, Grace, and Ruby), a miniature donkey (Luna), a goat (Sweetpea), a dog (Chance), a cat (Jasper) and a rabbit (Mocha).
They are members of the Bethany Christian Church where Dan is actively involved as a member of the serve teams.