Veteran Spotlight: Michael Malave

Veteran Michael Malave served in the United States Marine Corps for several years. A native of Northwest Indiana, he went into the Marine Corps as a teenager shortly after graduating from high school.

“I served in the United States Marine Corps from January 1986 through October 1988,” Malave said. “I was born and raised in Gary and, while I appreciated my childhood, I needed to see the world. I didn’t get a scholarship to go to college so I thought, ‘Why not join the army?’”

After training stateside, Malave was shipped internationally, where he completed his tour of duty in Scotland, which was his first location choice.

“For a boy from a small town, getting the chance to see Scotland was a big deal,” said Malave. “It was a complete culture shock. To get to where we were stationed at the USS Huntley, we had to take a train, a ferry, and a boat.”

After leaving the military, Malave moved to East Chicago, which is not far from his hometown. Since leaving, Malave has always held at least two jobs. Over the years, he has been able to leverage his defense and investigation experience in the marines in a security capacity working with local police authorities.

“I’ve got a little over 28 years with the Porter County Sheriff’s Department,” Malave said.

Previously, Malave worked simultaneously in security and cars.

“When I got out of the Marine Corps, I did a little bit of security work that was easy to get into,” he said. “From there, I went into a different field that’s referred to as restoration. I was working for a company that was servicing cars on the railroad; doing a lot of welding, fabrication, cleanup and stuff like that.”

It was while he was working in restoration that he received a call about working with the Porter County Sheriff’s Department to work in their jail. From there, he transitioned to his current role as a sergeant.

I started off in the jail and I’ve been in the court system since 2011,” Malave said.

In his role as sergeant, he is commissioned by the sheriff. Malave has the professional and lawful capacity to arrest people, file charges and the like.

Malave remains very passionate about serving his country and would never have given up the experience to do so.

“One of the things that I like most is that I had the opportunity to join the Marine Corps and become a Marine,” he said. “I would do anything for my country. I am just proud to be a U.S. Marine and to have served the United States.”

As a veteran and current citizen, Malave’s loyalty to his country remains evident. He contributed to making the United States safer for us through his service, and he continues on in his current work today.