Jared Walters’ journey to becoming an officer with the Manteno Police Department in May made a stop in the U.S. Army.

Walters graduated from Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School in 2009. He served in the Army from 2010 to 2013. That included a six-month deployment to Iraq.

“A lot can happen in six months, especially when you are 20,” Walters recalled during an interview.

The now 34-year-old Walters was an artillery mechanic.

The Army wasn’t Walters’ first choice to serve his country. He originally wanted to join the U.S. Marines, but a run-in with the law as a teen put an end to that dream. If his Army recruiter was unsuccessful in pleading Walters’ case to a higher-up, Walters said his journey might have gone in another direction.

But it didn’t.

Walters came back to Kankakee County. He got married. He and his wife, Kaitlin, are parents of two children.

While in high school, Walters attended the Kankakee Area Career Center. He studied auto shop for one year and then precision machining for another year.

Upon his return, Walters worked as a mechanic for River Valley Truck Repair before joining pipe fitters’ local union 597 as an apprentice. He obtained journeyman status in 2021.

“I don’t remember who told me, but somebody whispered in my ear, you should get something that they’re going to train you to do after you get out. And that was the route that I took,” Walters recalled.

Somewhere between 2023 or 2024, Walters said he thought about joining a fire or police department.

At 34 years old, Walters said he was nearing the age cutoff for being hired.

He had been a volunteer with Bradley Fire Department in the mid-2010s. He also was a licensed EMT.

Walters applied to only one police department, Manteno.

In the meantime, he interviewed with two fire departments.

Walters’ juvenile arrest put that to rest.

That arrest has since been expunged, he said.

“I learned from everything that I did wrong, and I’ve taken that to heart and tried to be better since then,” Walters said.

It was about that time Manteno called and Walters accepted the offer.

Lessons learned while in the Army resonate in his new line of work.

Military training instilled a strong sense of discipline and attention to detail, beneficial in both pipe fitting and police work, Walters said.

He developed situational awareness and the ability to handle high-stress situations, which are crucial in law enforcement.

Those came with a heavy burden upon returning from his service.

Walters experienced hypervigilance and isolation after deployment, feeling different from civilian life. ​

He got involved with Project Headspace and Timing, which helped get him on track and got him in touch with other veterans. He also participated in peer support groups.

Walters advocates for more programs to help veterans transition back to civilian life and address mental health issues.

“It changed everything,” Walters said of Project Headspace and Timing.