Cochise County Sheriff’s Assist Team marks 25 years; volunteers credited with thousands of hours

The Cochise County Sheriff’s Assist Team marked its 25th anniversary this week with an awards luncheon that recognized long‑serving volunteers and highlighted the group’s support for county law enforcement.

Sheriff Mark Veil told KWCD’s 1st Watch that the volunteer corps has grown into “one of the most respected volunteer corps for law enforcement beyond the state,” and credited community partners including Cochise College and Fort Huachuca for supporting the program. He said the county’s volunteers provide services ranging from neighborhood patrols and traffic control to funeral escorts for veterans.

Commander John Black, who leads the SAT, described the team’s mission on the program as providing “non‑law‑enforcement task[s] while assisting with crime deterrents,” explaining the group does traffic control, vacation house checks, callouts for wildland fires and scene support so deputies can remain on patrol.

Black and program materials cited cumulative volunteer contributions in recent years. He said the team logged about 10,000 volunteer hours on average historically (equating to roughly 5.5 full‑time deputy equivalents) and recorded 7,067 patrol hours in 2025; the SAT also reported conducting 389 veteran funeral escorts to date and 36 escorts in the prior year. “We spent over 500 hours escorting our veterans over the past year,” Black said.

The luncheon included local officials and law‑enforcement leaders. Black said attendees included county supervisors, the Sierra Vista mayor, Cochise College leadership and multiple municipal police chiefs; a proclamation from the governor was read and a congressional recognition was presented.

Individual awards included recognition for volunteers with long cumulative hours and for service and training contributions. Black named Melissa Worthland (listed in the program as the volunteer of the year) and cited volunteers receiving ribbons for prior military or emergency‑service experience and for cumulative hour thresholds.

Sheriff Veil also described regional coordination this week with the Southern Arizona homeland security committee, saying the effort brought $32,000 back to Cochise County to support a regional SWAT team made up of agencies across the county. He framed regionalization and shared resources as a force multiplier for rural public safety.

Veil used the broadcast to urge caution during summer storms and heavy traffic, advising drivers to slow down and not to drive through flooded washes: “turn around, don’t drown,” he said, noting recent incidents in Tombstone and Douglas where wind and downed trees caused power outages.

Commander Black said prospective volunteers can learn more via the SAT Facebook page, and encouraged those interested to review photos and program updates there.

The sheriff’s office and SAT did not announce new paid positions on the program; the segment focused on volunteer recognition, training partnerships and interagency funding. The SAT award list and individual cumulative hour totals were presented at the luncheon and recited on air.