Spotlight on Michael Worrell: Police officer, Army National Guard acting platoon sergeant, father of two.

This time last year, Patrolman Michael Worrell was at Fort Hood in Texas, training for his second tour with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. 

By the first week of January 2022, he was on his way to Kuwait, where for the next 11 months he switched roles from police officer to acting platoon sergeant with the 1067th Composite Truck Company.

Having missed Christmas 2021 with his two daughters, Layla and Aubree, the devoted dad said this year will be all about family.

“Last year, I bought all their gifts online and mailed them,” Worrell said. “I am really looking forward to just spending the day with them.”

Worrell has been busy since his return home in October. When he’s not working, he’s either at the gym, spending time with friends or settling in at his new house. 

A lifelong resident of Delaware County, Worrell grew up in Folcroft. He graduated from Academy Park High School in June 2009 and enlisted in the Army the following October – initially just biding his time until he could pursue his dream job.

“I wanted to be a police officer. I even took the agility test and a written exam for the Delaware County Municipal Police Academy. They told me I probably wouldn’t be hired anywhere until I was 21, and I was only 18,” he said. “I joined the Army and almost immediately was sent to Afghanistan where I served for a year from November 2010 to 2011. I came home and went to the police academy.” 

When he graduated from the academy’s six-monthprogram in 2012, he was the recipient of the Firearms Award, a nod for sure to his military training, he said. 

After making the application rounds, Worrell was hired as a part-time officer in Yeadon in March 2013, where David Splain was employed as a detective sergeant. 

Eighteen months into his two-year stint in Yeadon, Worrell came to work as a part-time officer in Nether Providence in 2014 under Splain, who had been hired as chief of police in 2013. 

Worrell later worked full time for both the Drexel University Police Department for six months, and then the Philadelphia Police Department for a year and a half before returning full time to Nether Providence in November 2016. 

“What appealed to me when I hired him was his maturity at a young age, and his military experience,” Chief Splain said. 

“Since I was 18, I wanted to be a police officer. I grew up seeing kids making poor choices, and I wanted to become part of the change,” said Worrell, who is the first in his family to work in law enforcement. 

“I just want to be fair, and impartial. If I can do that, I will be happy,” he said. “I wish everyone could do a ride-along with a police officer and see for themselves what we do, what we are about. We are human beings, doing the best we can to serve and to protect.” 

Worrell has binders filled with awards and commendations he’s earned, both as a police officer and a soldier. He’s proud of every one of them. 

As an acting platoon sergeant in Kuwait, Worrell supervised 53 soldiers, and oversaw

millions of dollars’ worth of equipment. They trained with members of the British, Danish, Norwegian and Italian armies. 

Every day before work, he would go to the gym. Then he would bicycle to his post. In the summer, temperatures hit a sweltering high of 130 degrees. 

“Our job was logistics, getting soldiers and equipment from one point to another to sustain operations in the Middle East,” he said of their peaceful mission. “We conducted multiple training exercises to stay prepared for future conflicts.”

The months in Kuwait contrasted with his time in Afghanistan, where Worrell said he saw extensive combat, and lost three friends in his platoon after their truck was hit by an improvised explosive device. 

Also, unlike Afghanistan, the internet connection in Kuwait was decent, which allowed him to Facetime with his daughters almost daily.

“That really helped a lot,” he said. 

Worrell’s first stop when he came home was their schools. Try not to tear up watching videos of the daddy-daughter reunions. 

Worrell is proud of his rise from the ranks of Army private. He’s made lifelong friends from Pennsylvania throughout his 13 years in the Guard. 

With another seven years to go before retirement, he plans to continue devoting one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer to the service of his country. 

As for future deployment?

“My last deployment was 11 years ago,” he said. “But we are constantly on call.” 

Worrell is equally proud to wear the Nether Providence police uniform. 

“I used to think nothing would compare to the adrenaline rush of combat,” he said. “I was wrong. Being a police officer has given me comparable adrenaline rushes. Plus, I get to combine my experiences and keep learning.”