COLUMBUS, OH – Nothing in the world is better than watching a U.S. service member returning home from an overseas deployment happy and healthy. Except when they surprise their family members upon their return and publish videos to share with the rest of us.
That’s what happened this week in Columbus when Police Officer Dillon Evans returned from a 300-day deployment as a military police officer.
Before becoming a police officer, Evans spent six years in the Columbus Police Explorers and also participated in the law enforcement program at the Delaware Area Career Center. In High School, he enlisted in the United States Army Reserves as a military police officer and left for basic training shortly after high school. Evans now works as a Deputy Sheriff in Corrections with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.
He had just returned from his second overseas deployment since enlisting in the Army reserves.
“With a little under a year on the job, my unit was called to deploy overseas as in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and our second mission Operation Allies Refuge,” Evans said. “Our unit first deployed to Saudi Arabia to provide security force protection for the base and then our mission changed due to the crisis in Afghanistan. We were then moved to Qatar where we provided security on base and patrolled the housing areas to keep the refugees safe.”
After 309 days overseas, Evans returned home to surprise his mother, Laurie Evans during her retirement party after a career with the Columbus Police Department.
“It has been 309 days since I have been home and I am very happy to be back,” Evans said.
Mrs. Evans’ law enforcement background began in Corrections with the Delaware County, Ohio, Sheriff’s Office. She later was hired on with Columbus Police in the 82nd recruit class, which started July 19, 1992 and on Wednesday she retired.
“My mom has taught me many things, from teaching me how to treat others to even teaching me her ways in policing while I was a CPD Police Explorer,” the younger Evans said of his mother. “One of the most important things she has taught me breaks down into three parts. She stated to me that everyday in public service you wear a patch or badge that represents the community you serve, along with that you represent the very flag we fly and most importantly, you represent the very name on your chest. That will always stick with me.”