The state Highway Patrol has proposed raising the maximum age at which someone can become a trooper from 35 to 45. This would allow the state to hire retired military professionals, and that could create a whole new pool of recruits to draw from. Like many states, Oklahoma is unable to consider most retired military workers because once they qualify to retire from the service, they are usually too old to be troopers under the current law.
"There are a lot of good reasons to look to people who have spent their career in the military," said Highway Patrol Captain Kevin Ward. "They get great training and keep themselves in great shape."
Not everyone is enthusiastic about the proposal. Some troopers and legislators are concerned that older troopers will hold on to their jobs for 20 years in order to retire from the state with full benefits. That means many of them would be 65 by the time they qualify for full benefits, and some legislators wonder if a 65-year-old should be patrolling the highways and arresting drug traffickers. Another concern is that it will turn highway patrol jobs into a "retirement job" rather than a primary one.
As this legislation moves through the session, its backers have at least one ace in the hole. The proposal is part of a pay-raise bill for state troopers.
That bill sailed out of committee in late February. It is now in the Senate.
