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: Capt. John J. Hotz
Q7132023 (573) 526-6115

July 13, 2023
EMPHASIS: Captain Ryan A. Burckhardt, Captain Philip E. Gregory To Retire August 1, 2023

Colonel Eric T. Olson, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, announces the following retirements:

Captain Ryan A. Burckhardt, commanding officer of Troop C, Weldon Spring, will retire August 1, 2023, after over 26 years of dedicated service.

Burckhardt joined the Patrol on July 1, 1997, as a member of the 74th Recruit Class. Upon graduating from the Patrol’s Law Enforcement Academy, he was assigned to Troop C, Zone 10, Franklin County. In July 2000, he transferred to Zone 8, St. Charles County. Burckhardt was promoted to corporal in January 2005, and designated assistant zone supervisor of Zone 1, North St. Louis County. He was promoted to sergeant and designated zone supervisor of Zone 2, North St. Louis County, in July 2007. Burckhardt was promoted to lieutenant and assigned to Troop C Headquarters, Weldon Spring, in November 2013. He was promoted to captain in September 2018 and designated director of the Missouri Information Analysis Center. On October 1, 2021, he transferred to Troop C, Weldon Spring, where he served as commanding officer.

Burckhardt grew up in Portage des Sioux, MO. He graduated from Orchard Farm High School in St. Charles, MO, in 1989. Burckhardt served in the U.S. Navy from 1989 to 1993 and was assigned to the Naval Air Warfare Center in Patuxent River, MD. Prior to joining the Patrol, he served as a police officer for the Bellefontaine Neighbors Police Department in St. Louis, MO. He was recalled to the U.S. Navy in 2002 for nearly a year in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Noble Eagle. Captain Burckhardt earned a Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice from Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO, in 2001. In 2007, he completed his Master of Justice Administration from Norwich University in Northfield, VT. In 2013, he completed Leadership in Police Organizations training, and then served as an instructor for the course.


A photo of Capt. Burckhardt can be found with this news release on the Patrol's website.
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Captain Philip E. Gregory, Troop E commanding officer, will retire August 1, 2023, after 30 years of dedicated service.

Gregory was appointed to the Patrol on August 1, 1993, as a member of the 66th Recruit Class. Upon completing his training at the Patrol’s Law Enforcement Academy, he was assigned to Troop E, Zone 11, Stoddard County. He transferred to Zone 4, Cape Girardeau, on June 1, 1995. On August 1, 1997, Gregory transferred to Troop I, Zone 2, Phelps County. He was promoted to corporal on September 1, 1998, and designated assistant zone supervisor of Zone 2. He transferred to the Division of Drug and Crime Control, General Headquarters, Jefferson City, on December 1, 1998. While assigned to that division, Gregory was promoted to sergeant on October 1, 2001, and lieutenant on July 1, 2010. As a lieutenant, he served as an assistant division director. On July 1, 2019, Gregory was promoted to captain and designated commanding officer of Troop E, Poplar Bluff, MO.

Captain Gregory grew up in Fredericktown, MO, and graduated from Fredericktown High School. Before his appointment to the Patrol, he served as an officer with the Cape Girardeau Police Department and Chaffee Police Department, and as a paramedic. He is a graduate of the National Training Center of Polygraph Science in New York, NY. In 2019, he completed Police Leadership¯West Point Model executive level course. Capt. Gregory and his wife, Tanya, have three children, five grandchildren, and one great-grandchild


A photo of Capt. Gregory can be found with this news release on the Patrol's website.

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