Mike Miciotto spent 30 years in the United States Marine Corps. When he decided to retire, he wanted “to find a nice place to live.”

He never thought he would be a police officer.

But when Miciotto settled in Bowling Green and discovered an opening in the campus police, he decided to give the job a chance.

“I was in combat arms for 30 years,” Miciotto said. “I hadn’t really thought about being a police officer.”

Miciotto is one of three officers that campus police have hired this semester.

He graduated from the Department of Criminal Justice Training program in Richmond on Dec. 19. The other two new officers, Brandon Miller and Ramon Gutierrez, were sworn in yesterday and will enter the program next week.

But it will be a while before these new officers patrol the Hill.

The new officers will receive 10 weeks of training on campus, campus police chief Robert Deane said.

The officers will also be on probation for a year before they are officially a part of campus police, he said. The search for new officers still continues.

“At this point, there are two we can fill,” Major Jerry Phelps said.

He said they hope to have those positions filled before the program’s April session.

There will be two final vacancies left after April, when campus police plan to start promoting officers.

Phelps said campus police are looking for officers who are honest, have good communication skills and show the ability to fit into a campus setting.

“We’re working to get fully staffed, but it takes time,” Deane said.

New campus police officers usually are paid $23,309 plus the Kentucky Law Enforcement Foundation Program Fund bonuses, Phelps said in January.

Miciotto said he was happy with his decision to join campus police because it would be a “good mesh” with what he used to do.

“I think I fell into a good thing,” he said.

Reach Beth Wilberding at [email protected]