BELL COUNTY, Texas — Central Texas is full of veterans who chose to take their uniforms off only to put on a new one.
Meet Trooper Ricky Stoud, a highway patrolman with the Texas Department of Public Safety. But a trooper’s uniform isn’t the first one that Ricky proudly put on.
That one was a National Guard uniform before he chose to go on active duty in U.S. Army.
”A total of 10 years,” said Stroud. “Like I said, the first five were concrete and asphalt. Then I came up to either get out or reenlist. So, as part of my reenlistment, I reclassed as a drone operator, UAV’s.”
After serving a decade in the military, Stroud was granted full custody of his son and decided his time as a soldier had come to an end, but his time in a uniform didn’t.
”I won full custody of my son and if I deployed again, I would lose custody,” said Stroud. “So, my first instinct was to get into law enforcement. Just because I like helping people, I like interacting with the public, I like talking to people, and I want to be there for people when they’re having their worst moments.”
Stroud transitioned from a soldier on Fort Hood to an officer with the Killeen Police Department but now DPS is proud to say he is one of theirs.
”Well Ricky, he’s just an outstanding guy,” said Dustin Gilmore, sergeant with the Texas Department of Public Safety. “He’s a self-motivator, a self-starter, and he’s never one that’s not out on the roadway working and making contact with the public every day.”
Stroud is not just a great asset in the trooper ranks.
”If you need something at 2 o’clock in the morning, you can call Ricky and he’ll be there for you,” said Gilmore. “I mean, he’s just a phone call away. He’s always willing to help anyone in need of help or even just advice.”
While his family has grown well beyond his only son, Stroud has a message for the young man that started it all.
”There’s no doubt in my mind that I made the right decision to give you a better life and a better home,” said Stroud. “To take you away from what you were going through at the time, to be able to win custody of you. I just hope that you know that I love you and that I would do it all over again in a heartbeat to make sure you were safe.”
Trooper Ricky Stroud proudly served his country for 10 years and now wakes up every morning to continue serving the Fort Hood Community as a Texas State Trooper.
