JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Major Gregory Kindle announced his retirement from the Missouri State Highway Patrol Wednesday morning effective Feb. 1, 2017. Kindle, a 36-year veteran of the force, serves as the commander of the support services bureau and one of the six bureau commanders that assists the patrol superintendent, Colonel Bret Johnson.
Johnson also announced his retirement earlier this month, also effective Feb. 1.
Brad Thielemier of the Missouri State Troopers Association said the organization would be “sad to see them go.”
“We just wanted to just express our gratitude for their service,” he said. “They’ve been very valuable public servants for the citizens of Missouri.”
With a new change of leadership in that role as Gov.-elect Eric Greitens assumes the position in just a few weeks, changes in the highest levels of government bodies are common. The highway patrol superintendent is appointed by the governor, and superintendents and other members of leadership within the MSHP may step down when the governor changes, especially if the new governor comes from a different party.
Thielemier said the organization was confident that Greitens would make good decisions in choosing a replacement for Johnson.
“Gov.-elect Greitens has already shown himself to be a very strong proponent of law enforcement, and we’re very excited about him becoming governor and working with him,” he said. “We’re confident that whoever he chooses to be the next superintendent of highway patrol will be the best person to lead the organization forward under his administration.”
Kindle joined MSHP in 1980 as an officer in Putnam and Sullivan Counties. By 1990, he was a zone commander and a sergeant in charge of Macon and Shelby Counties. In 1999, he transferred to Jefferson City to join the field operations bureau, when he transferred to the support service bureau in May of 2005, he had already attained the rank of major.
Kindle also served in the Missouri National Guard with deployments to Europe and Central America.
Major Luke Vislay, the commander of the criminal investigations bureau, also announced his own retirement just before Christmas.
