Temecula Officer, Patch Columnist Made Head of VFW Post

A Temecula officer and Temecula Patch columnist was appointed head of the local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post.

Crime Prevention Officer John Thomas was appointed this month to lead Post 4089, which is based in Temecula.

Thomas will represent the post at VFW regional meetings and promote its interests.

"One of my biggest concerns is  we're trying to secure a better-sized location," he said in an interview last week. "The current location is too small to hold the kind of events we want to hold."

Thomas was in the U.S. Army from 1986 to 1997. He served in Korea, Bosnia and Germany and retired with the rank of sergeant E-5.

He writes a column for Temecula Patch called "Keep Your Guard Up" advising readers on how to avoid being a victim.