Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Joshua D. Muck has been selected as the Chillicothe Post’s 2026 Trooper of the Year, an honor voted on by the fellow troopers who work beside him, the Chillicothe Gazette reported.
Muck, 28, of Minford, was chosen by his peers at the post, according to a community announcement cited by the Chillicothe Gazette. The award recognizes his service, work attitude, leadership, community engagement and professionalism with supervisors, peers and the public.
It is the latest in a string of honors for a trooper who has made a specialty of criminal patrol and stolen-vehicle recovery. Muck received the Criminal Patrol Award in both 2024 and 2026, earned the ACE Award for auto larceny apprehension in 2023, and received the Award of Excellence for policing auto larceny in 2024, the Chillicothe Gazette reported.
Muck joined the Ohio State Highway Patrol in 2021 as a member of the 168th Academy Class and was assigned to the Chillicothe Post after graduating — the post where he continues to serve today, patrolling Ross County and the surrounding U.S. 23 and U.S. 50 corridors.
Before the uniform, Muck attended Minford High School in Scioto County and went on to earn an associate degree in wildlife resource management from Hocking College — a Southeast Ohio upbringing now spent serving Southeast Ohio roads.
The post honor is not the end of the line. With the Chillicothe Post’s Trooper of the Year title, Muck is now eligible for the District and State Trooper of the Year awards, which will be announced later, the Chillicothe Gazette reported.
For the drivers who pass the Chillicothe Post’s cruisers on the highway every day, the award is a small window into the standard the post sets for itself: the troopers themselves decide each year whose service best represents the whole post — and this year, by their own vote, it was Trooper Muck.
Photo: Raymond Wambsgans, CC BY-SA