LAW ENFORCEMENT INSTRUCTOR

Mr. Mark Kostos is the originator of the newest program at Lewis & Clark, arriving prior to the 2021-2022 school year.  Mr. Kostos has extensive experience in the law enforcement field.  Originally from San Diego, California, he joined the United States Marine Corps out of high school, ultimately rising to the rank of Gunnery Sergeant.  During his nearly 14 years of active duty, he worked in military intelligence, specializing in the Korean peninsula.  

After a special duty assignment with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Mr. Kostos chose to leave the Marine Corps and enter law enforcement.  He first served as a Border Patrol Agent in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas; and later as a police officer in the city of Irving, Texas.  The events of 9/11 spurred him to join the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) where he served for a number of years as an in-flight security officer.  Subsequently, he supervised the training section for the FAMS Chicago Field Office, and ran one of the Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response Teams.  His most recent assignment was as the Assistant Federal Security Director for Law Enforcement with the Department of Homeland Security/Transportation Security Administration at St. Louis - Lambert International Airport. 

Mr. Kostos is married and has two adult children, and two grandchildren.  When not at Lewis & Clark, Mr. Kostos enjoys spending time with his family, hunting, fishing, and golf.  He also cheers on the Chicago Cubs. (But please don’t hold that against him!)

President Theodore Roosevelt said, “To educate a person in the mind but not in morals is to educate a menace to society.”  My goal at Lewis & Clark is to provide my students with the ethical, physical, technical, and tactical skills needed to put them on the path to becoming the next generation of great law enforcement professionals.