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U.S. Marine vet to lead Pasco County school safety effort

Chris Stowe has been a legislative advisor to U.S. Central Command since 2016.
 
Published May 22, 2018

A retired U.S. Marine who deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait and other hotspots during his 24-year career will become the Pasco County school district's first safety and security director, a position created in the aftermath of the February mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland.

Chris StoweChristopher Stowe, currently a legislative advisor to the U.S. Central Command, won the job over more than 80 applicants who included university police officers, former Secret Service agents and criminal investigators.

His appointment is slated to go to the School Board for approval on May 29.

Stowe's experiences made him a unique candidate for the post. While in the Marines, he responded to multiple roadside bombs as a disposal technician, and also worked to lead and train hundreds of explosive ordnance disposal operators.

His biography from a recent summit where he spoke indicates he dealt with post-traumatic stress because of his activities, and learned to use several forms of therapy to recover:

"His involvement in finding complementary and alternative therapeutic modalities as an adjunct to traditional pharmaceutical approaches for his own conditions created his need to help others, as well as his previous posting with USSOCOM Care Coalition after serving as a Congressional Fellow with the House Committee for Veterans Affairs in 2014."

Such perspective would give Stowe insights into the preparation and training for securing schools, as well as the knowledge of handling the aftermath of any crises that might arise.

If approved, he is expected to begin the first week of June.

The district continues to recruit security guards for its elementary schools. Training for that post is scheduled to begin June 11.