this weekend park ranger margaret anderson was shot & killed at mt. ranier np. ambushed in her vehicle before she had a chance to respond by a vet suffering from ptsd. he had been involved in a shooting earlier in the day. after a massive manhunt he was found dead from exposure to the cold,
ranger anderson left behind 2 toddlers.

honestly i feel little sorrow for this man. yes obviously the system failed him.

that is NOT the point of this thread. i am having wicked flashbacks to my days of law enforcement. i have been in her footsteps. the NPS is a very small agency & it's law enforcement side is even smaller..numbering maybe 1,000 rangers..back in the day it was even smaller. been there, looked down the barrel , found the bomb,fought the riot, saved the jumper (or not), arrested god & satan, saw terrorists...& so much more.

it's brought back all sorts of memories for me...& the whole i can;'t sleep, being back in cop mode etc. i know it will pass but for now the hyper vigilance sucks.

many of my friends don't get it ..they didn't know me when i was doing major law enforcement..they don't understand the risks, the terror, the fear etc.

you don't expect stuff like this in a national park...even tho you train & train you just don't expect it.

god speed ranger anderson.