Ryan Keeler believes in giving back to his community.

From his military service in the United States Marine Corps to his EMT work and his current career overseeing defendants in local court systems, it’s all been about improving his home and doing what needs doing.

The 45-year-old Snohomish, Wash., native said the mindset was instilled in him from his youth.

“When I was growing up, I was always taught that you need to be compassionate and give to other people, and so initially it was giving to our country,” Keeler said.

At the age of 17, Keeler followed in the footsteps of his father and his grandfather by enlisting in the Marine Corps, where he began as a radio operator. Through that work — supporting Army and allied units with naval gunfire and close air support — he learned several other trades and eventually became a joint tactical air strike controller, or JTAC.

“I really had a passion for that,” Keeler said. “To get out there on the battlefield and direct air strikes in support of ground troops. That’s what I really liked to do.”

He would end up serving for 21 years, reaching the rank of master sergeant and being deployed in the Gulf War and Somalia, and for two tours of duty in Iraq. While not on deployment, Keeler was stationed in Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Through the technology he had become familiar with as a JTAC, from lasers to night-vision equipment and thermal imagers, Keeler also developed the skills that led to his first job after retiring from the military. That job was the main West Coast optics instructor for the Marine Corps, which he held for a year.

Keeler’s experience in the military only added to his desire to continue helping others.

“I saw a lot of other people give more than I gave, in Iraq and other places I served, and they gave their lives, so the least I can do is give more of my time to others,” Keeler said. “I may not always like it and I may stomp my feet at times, but it’s what needs to be done. If everybody gave a little bit more, than it would be a better place.”

So, after a couple of short-term jobs, Keeler ended up using his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice that he earned while in the Marine Corps to get a job at Compliance Monitoring Systems.

WHEN HE BEGAN work at Compliance Monitoring Systems in 2009, Keeler worked as a compliance officer overseeing 23 clients that required court-ordered remote alcohol monitoring. Now the territory manager for Kalispell, he oversees 84 clients on remote-alcohol monitoring, 17 clients on GPS monitoring, 27 clients on the 24/7 Sobriety Program, and four clients on pretrial supervision, spread across Flathead, Lincoln, Lake, and Sanders counties.

“I like it because not only are you holding people accountable for their actions, but you do see a lot of change in them,” he said. “They have made a mistake in their life, and for a lot of them it’s a life-changing event after four, five, six months of sobriety, or after they’ve realized that they don’t need drugs. It’s nice to see some of those people go through that change and finally realize there’s other things out there for them to do.”

As in any situation involving the courts, there is some recidivism, and Keeler has had to monitor the same person three or four times on a few occasions, but he estimated that 80 percent of his clients understand their situation, want to get past it and move on with their lives, and thus cooperate with all the rules.

“I like to see people succeed, and everybody is one decision away from making a mistake,” Keeler said. “You or I could make a bad decision, maybe turn the wrong way down a one-way street, we injure somebody and we have to be supervised. Everybody has that possibility.”

The 80 percent who recognize their mistake and try to make it right are the good ones, he said. The difficult ones are those who don’t think they need supervision or believe they are being railroaded by the court.

A YEAR BEFORE Keeler was hired by his current employer, he started another side job in which he aided the community in another way.

He had already been interested in law enforcement, possibly in a search-and-rescue capacity, but had not yet made any inroads. But, living in Lakeside, he heard of the Lakeside Quick Response Unit.

“I went down and talked to them, and having a military background and having had a lot of military first aid courses and classes, it interested me,” Keeler said. “So in 2008 I started with Lakeside QRU as a first responder and then I became an EMT basic. I was the president down there for a year and a half, but I’ve stepped back and now I’m just the training officer.”

The change means Keeler has more time for his job and responds to fewer calls. Where in previous years he would respond to anywhere from 120 to 180 calls, this year he has only responded to about 40.

“I know that even if I no longer respond with Lakeside QRU there is going to be somebody else there to step up and if my family needs the help there’s going to be someone there,” Keeler said. “So I’m paying it forward, right now it’s my turn to give to the community in hopes that later on, when I’m no longer responding, there’s somebody there to take care of my family and I.”

DESPITE KEELER’S heavy workload, it’s not all work and no play for the family man. 

Along with his wife, 18-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son, Keeler enjoys taking advantage of all the local outdoor opportunities such as hiking, camping, hunting and fishing. In fact, it was a combination of those opportunities and the fact that his father moved to Sanders County that drew him to the area.

“When I was in the Marine Corps my dad moved out here, and when I was home on leave visiting him over the years, I just thought this was definitely the place I wanted to be,” he said.

Family continues to be important to Keeler, who will be celebrating his 19th anniversary with his wife tomorrow. In addition to his other hobbies, he practices jiu jitsu at Straight Blast Gym in Kalispell, where his son and daughter are also students.

And yet he even dedicates a portion of his spare time to others, serving as the Toys for Tots coordinator for the Flathead Valley.