LOCAL HERO | GABE IRVIS
Humility Behind the Wheel North Dakota Highway Patrol Officer Gabe Irvis Serves Without Flash WRITTEN BY: ALEXIS SWENSON PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
North Dakota Highway Patrol Officer Gabe Irvis has always wanted to be a cop. In fact, he remembers telling his mom so at age seventeen. She dissuaded him from the career choice and after graduating high school, Irvis studied Business Administration. He lasted about one year before coming to terms with the fact that school was not for him. On a whim, Irvis enlisted in the Army National Guard on September 12, 2006 at 20 years old. Just 13 days later he shipped for boot camp. “It looked like something I wanted to do. I liked wartime movies and stuff like that. I loved the atmosphere of boot camp; it looked like fun to me. And, I wanted to ship as soon as possible,” said Irvis. After serving two years in the Army National Guard as a 21 Whiskey (Carpentry Masonry Specialist), Irvis transferred to the North Dakota Air National Guard where he served for 6 years as part of the Security Forces Squadron, the Air Force’s version of Military Police. “When I transferred to the ND Air Guard, it kind of reignited that desire to be in law enforcement and I made a conscious decision to try to get into that field,” said Irvis. In 2012, Irvis began working for the ND Highway Patrol while serving as a Guardsman on a part-time basis. As both jobs are huge commitments, Irvis decided to focus his efforts on one position and in 2014, he made the difficult decision to leave the ND National Guard. 30 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com
