MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL
a division of the
Department of Public Safety
Public Information and Education Division - PO Box 568 - Jefferson City, MO 65102
NEWS RELEASE
For further information please contact:
Lt. Eric F. Brown - (573) 526-6115
Q8292025
August 29, 2025
EMPHASIS: Sergeant Wallace V. Ahrens Promoted To Lieutenant Colonel
Colonel Michael A. Turner, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, announces Sergeant Wallace V. Ahrens is being promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel effective September 1, 2025, and will serve as the assistant superintendent. In addition to acting in the superintendent’s absence and at his request, Lt. Colonel Ahrens has direct oversight of the Professional Standards Division, Public Information & Education Division and Patrol Legal Counsel.
Ahrens was appointed to the Patrol on October 20, 2002, as a member of the 80th Recruit Class. Upon graduating from the Patrol’s Law Enforcement Academy, he was assigned to Troop F, Zone 4, Audrain County. He was promoted to corporal on October 21, 2007, and designated assistant zone supervisor of Troop F, Zone 4. On May 2, 2010, he was promoted to sergeant and designated zone supervisor of Troop F, Zone 15, Callaway County. Ahrens was promoted to lieutenant on April 1, 2015, and assigned to Troop F Headquarters in Jefferson City, where he served as a district lieutenant and SWAT team commander. He has over 15 years of combined experience as a member of the Troop F SWAT team. On February 1, 2019, at his request, Ahrens transitioned to master sergeant and served as supervisor of Troop F, Zone 14, commercial vehicle enforcement operations. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on September 1, 2025, and designated assistant superintendent.
Lt. Colonel Ahrens was born in Los Angeles, CA, and grew up in Columbia, MO. He graduated from David H. Hickman High School in 1994 and earned a Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice administration from Columbia College in 2001. In 1996, Ahrens enlisted in the United States Army, Missouri Army National Guard, attending basic combat training and military police school at Fort McClellan, AL. He continues serving in the Missouri Army National Guard with more than 24 years of total service and was previously deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. Lt. Colonel Ahrens completed the IACP Leadership in Police Organizations course in 2015. Lt. Colonel Ahrens and his wife, Brandy (Warn), have one child, Emma.
A photo of Lieutenant Colonel Ahrens is posted with this news release on the Patrol’s website.
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