Walking the halls of the Hockley County Courthouse, Aryn Corley has jumped back into law enforcement as the new bailiff for the courthouse to begin the year.
Starting his law enforcement career in 1996, Corley began what would become a long career path under the United States Air Force.
From 1993-1998, Corley served his country and spent a good chunk of time overseas in England.
At the time, Corley would marry his wife Andrea through proxy and was getting prepared to bring her across the pond as he had new orders to relocate to Germany.
“At that time, she was in San Angelo and, as luck would have it, my orders changed and I was sent to Goodfellow,” said Corley.
As ironic as it may be, Corley grew up in San Angelo and decided he would see the world by joining the military.
Now back in his hometown, Corley found a new perspective from being home after spending a substantial time abroad.
“After coming back home, I appreciated more what it was like to live in America and I learned not to take the freedoms we enjoy for granted,” said Corley.
Now back on U.S. soil, Corley was informed there was a shortage of police officers on the air force base at Goodfellow.
“The worst piece of advice I had ever been given was during basic training. That was never volunteer for anything,” explained Corley. “I volunteered for everything and the way I saw it was it was an opportunity to try something new.”
Trying his hand at the position, Corley said taking that job was the first time he felt a sense of doing something he is supposed to be doing.
One of the perks of a job in law enforcement is the job isn’t the same every day and he was able to meet and come across people from different walks of life.
“Being able to help out wherever I could make the difference for me,” said Corley.
Serving as an officer in the military for a handful of years lit the fire for Corley to pursue a similar career outside of the military, the Texas Game Wardens would be his next stop.
Once Corley departed the military, he enrolled at Angelo State University. It was there that he would seek and ultimately take a local law enforcement internship with the local game warden in Tom Green County.
Slightly different than what he was used to, Corley described the change as a life changing experience because it allowed him to be in law enforcement, but also be outdoors.
Being able to help and be a part of kid fishing trips and hunting trips, Corley felt that it was an involved and serviceoriented aspect of law enforcement.
“I saw myself making an impact on people’s lives in ways that I never considered,” said Corley. “When you are with someone when they catch their first fish, harvest their first deer or just spend time with people outdoors, it becomes a transformative life experience.”
For Corley, those positive memories is what appealed to him and the position he took during the internship. At the culmination of his internship and receiving his bachelor’s in psychology and criminal justice, Corley’s wife took a job at the radio station in Huntsville, Texas.
Moving east, he applied for a position as a game warden and was hired on. Living in Walker County at that time, Corley was tasked with covering San Jacinto County which was one county over.
As a full-time game warden, Corley noticed a difference from civilian law enforcement compared to his time as a law enforcement officer in the military.
“Military law enforcement has a few more orders and regulations that everybody has to follow,” explained Corley. “For civilian law enforcement, it is completely different. You have to be cognizant of what people’s rights are, also what the local, state and national laws are.”
With those differences, Corley had to make those distinctions flying solo. Working for the better part of five years without a partner, it was either sink or swim.
“I went through a seventh month exam and eventually passed the peace officer’s exam to get licensed as a police officer,” explained Corley. “Once I got to my duty session, I was on my own and had to figure it out in a new place with no friends and no family.”
Going through that, he would later get the opportunity to train a rookie as a partner and take the time to show his new partner the ropes properly.
On top of learning and going through the job, Corley had to handle his fair share of high stress situations.
Working through the explosion of the Columbia Space Shuttle in 2003, the debris was scattered across east Texas. Additionally, Corley handled multiple hurricanes such as Rita and Ike and he worked in protective details for then President Barack Obama and Congressman Kevin Brady.
Eventually, Corley would find his way back to west Texas after 13 years in the position.
“I wanted to progress to the next level and be the leader I always wanted,” said Corley. “Being supportive, nurturing and encouraging. I wanted to upscale my idea of leaving things better than the way I found it.”
With the goal of always wanting to make people better, Corely and his family moved to Lubbock as he took the captain’s position for the Lubbock office and became the district supervisor.
As supervisor, Corley was tasked with overseeing 26 counties which is the largest in the state of Texas.
“Being in that position taught me the importance of organizing but, more importantly, the importance of building relationships,” explained Corley. “From judges, prosecutors, landowners and stake holders, I did my best not to only know them but form those relationships with them.”
Being spread so thin around such a wide area, it is not uncommon for a game warden to cover two or three counties.
Being over 13 game wardens, Corley felt a sense of commitment to those game wardens and their families.
As captain, he served for seven years. Moving forward in his career, Corely did not retire from law enforcement until August of 2022.
The courthouse had been searching for a sheriff’s deputy to be stationed in their building and it wasn’t until Corley’s wife suggested the position.
At the time Corley was enjoying retirement as he thought he was done with law enforcement.
“I sort of realized this could be opportunity knocking with this position and it has been a real treat as the people I work with are great,” said Corley. “They also laugh at all my jokes and that makes it better.”
Jumping back into law enforcement, Corley has his mind set on moving forward with the end goal being to continue to be of service to the community.
With the intention to pursue a law degree in the near future, Corley is working to continue to climb the ladder and be the best person he can be.
“As somebody who was on the asphalt side of the law for over 20 years, maybe I can take all that knowledge and experience and apply it to the polished oak side of the law,” explained Corley. “It is one thing to be an officer on the street and it’s another to be an officer of the court where the role changes to the preservation of people’s rights.”