Kerry Pettingill earned his Bachelor of Science from Southern Nazarene University and joined the Oklahoma Highway Patrol ( OHP ) in 1982 . During his time OHP , Pettingill served as a bomb technician , hazardous materials technician , and in tactical operations officer . He served as commander of the OHP Bomb Squad , OHP Tactical Operations Team , and as liaison to the Federal Bureau of Investigation 's Joint Terrorism Task Force ( JTTF ) . In his position as OHP 's SWAT commander , Pettingill was one of the first to respond to the Oklahoma City bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19 , 1995 . For his efforts in the bombing response , Governor Frank Keating appointed Pettingill as Deputy Director of Homeland Security in 2002 . Governor Brad Henry promoted Pettingill to Director in 2004 . As the State 's Homeland Security Director , Kerry oversaw the Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security ( OKOHS ) in its mission to protect the State from acts of terrorism and overseeing State personnel assigned to the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force
Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City bombing
Kerry Pettingill