Jim Knepshield: Still contributing to our defense

Retired civilian engineer for Navy enjoys volunteering at PFPD

Jim Knepshield spent a career contributing to our nation's defense by helping develop weapons as a civilian engineer for the Navy.

Today he contributes to the defense of Post Falls as a police department volunteer and to the well-being of his neighborhood as vice president of the Riverside Harbor Homeowner's Association.

Knepshield is a co-coordinator of PFPD's Volunteers on Patrol (VOP), averaging about 60 hours of service per month since 2006.

"Since I was a child I held police officers in high regard," he said.

After receiving a degree in aerospace engineering, Knepshield worked for the Naval Weapons Center (today named the Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division) at China Lake, Calif., in 1970.

"I worked with and beside many Naval pilots," he said.

He began as a missile/guided rocket design engineer and moved into program management after graduating from the program manager's course at the Defense Systems Management College, in Fort Belvoir, Va., in 1976.

His final position was that of deputy director for research and engineering at the combined China Lake and Pt. Mugu, Calif., Naval air bases.

In 1975 Knepshield spent a year at Naval Air Systems Command headquarters and in 1992 he spent six months on an Office of Naval Research assignment at the European Office of Naval Research in London.

Much of the information of what he worked on in his 35-year career remains classified today.

Why was your career so rewarding?

I not only was given an opportunity to contribute to the defense of our country, but was privileged to lead teams of dedicated professionals and help mold the careers of younger team members.

Any other certain memories you'd like to share from your career?

Two test flights in a Navy A-6E Intruder aircraft over the ranges at China Lake in 1972. Upon my retirement in 2004, I received a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol and, by special permission of our admiral, flown over the Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division, China Lake, Calif., on the final day of my career.

What would you say was the most fulfilling project you worked on during your career?

It had to be a classified development program that I led for five years. The technology was fascinating and the project team I was privileged to lead became like family to me. I can't go into the specifics of the program. My role was program manager for the technical engineering team on the government side.

What weapons were among those you help develop?

The harpoon anti-ship missile (Navy), weapon launch system for the AV-8B Advanced Harrier aircraft (Marine Corps), advanced guided bomb family (Navy), joint direct attack munition (Air Force, Navy) and joint standoff weapon (Air Force, Navy). The joint direct attack munition was used in the Iraqi and Afghanistan conflicts and are a precision-guided bomb. They replaced what we used to call the 'dumb bombs' during World War II and the Korean War. The harpoon was unique in that it was air-launched, ship-launched and submarine-launched. I worked on more than 50 different projects and programs.

You were also involved in the Tomahawk cruise missile in a support role. Explain.

Much of the technology used in the Tomahawk was developed at China Lake. In the latter years of my career our test range at China Lake would team with our Pt. Mugu, Calif., site. Our range folks conducted very interesting tests involving launching a cruise missile from a submarine or a ship off the coast of Pt. Mugu and having it impact a target on the ranges at China Lake in excess of 165 miles away. Those tests weren't widely publicized, but were done with the safety of the public as a high priority and were always interesting. They always involved a chase aircraft that could destroy the missile in flight if it went off course or out of control. My involvement was more in the nature of administrative support during my tenure as deputy director for research and engineering.

Why did you decide to become a volunteer at PFPD?

My wife's brother was a police officer in southern California and later a deputy sheriff in Port Angeles, Wash. He was killed in the line of duty in 2000 in Port Angeles. The law enforcement community rallied around the family in a remarkable way when it was needed most. After moving to Post Falls in 2005, I read an article in the Press about the Post Falls Police Department's Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) program. I was impressed with the variety of duties available for volunteers to perform and that the chief required volunteers to meet the same character standards as a sworn police officer. I was also intrigued with the idea of being a part of the Volunteers on Patrol (VOP) portion of the program. I decided that being a VOP would allow me to serve my community while doing interesting work. I applied in early 2006, was accepted, and have been a VOP ever since. I'm close to 4,500 volunteer hours. I love what I get to do.

Any interesting incidents you've come across during your volunteer service?

One late Saturday night my partner and I came across a burglary in progress at a tire store. Tires were being loaded into a trailer, and we thought that looked odd. The individuals indicated they had permission. When we see something, we're not to jump in the middle of it so we continued observing. There ended up being five patrol cars there. We have also found many residences unsecured (unlocked) when we went there for vacation checks. We have also been called for traffic control at the Greyhound Park during rock concerts. It frees up the sworn officers to deal with issues within the park.

You own a 1930 Model A Ford pickup and are a member of the Inland Empire A's club and the Model A Ford Club of America. Why do you like being involved with that?

It provides the opportunity to learn about Model A Fords from some extremely knowledgeable club members. I bought mine in 1995 and have always been interested in antique vehicles. Model As are a relatively inexpensive way to be a part of that hobby. If you're busy, buy one that's been restored. If you buy a rust bucket, it will stay that way. My goal in retirement is to learn a lot about Model A Fords, but I have not done a good job at that.

In regard to being involved with the Riverside Harbor Homeowners Association, what have been the focus there?

We're preparing to present to our membership a proposal to expand the beachfront. This past summer we noticed an ever-increasing usage of the park. We can expand the beach without moving any trees. We're also looking at modernizing mailboxes and ideas for improving the appearance along Maplewood Avenue. We just completed focus campaigns on adherence to our time limits on parking of boats, trailers, campers and RVs as well as trash and recycle containers where visible from the street within Riverside Harbor.