IN Peters Township December 2018/January 2019 | Page 35

PROTECT
AND SERVE
Peters Township resident Robert Allan Jones begins new position
as special agent in charge of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office.
BY NICOLE TAFE
A
fter more than three decades, Robert Allan
Jones is happy to be home. Recently named
special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh
Field Office, Jones and his wife, Erin, are two of
Peters Township’s newest residents.
Jones, 54, grew up in Washington, Pa., and attended
Avella High School. He and his wife—who is also from
southwestern PA, having grown up in Munhall—have two
children. The couple came back to western PA after living
in Washington, D.C., the past four years.
“This is my 11th move over 32 years with the
government,” says Jones. “When the position became
available, I asked the Deputy Director for placement right
away. We have family spread all over Pittsburgh, and I
really missed the hills of western PA. This is my home—I
was born here and have always been attached to where
I grew up. Western PA is a unique area, and there’s lots
of personality here. I love the good and full hearts of the
people.”
Jones has been serving his country for more than 30
years. He entered the Marines following his graduation
from Pennsylvania State University. Serving in Operation
Desert Storm, he was awarded a Bronze Star for getting his
platoon out from under an attack in a Saudi Arabian village.
He spent 101/2 years with the Marines. “It was amazing
to serve my country in that capacity and to undergo
the challenges of being a Marine,” says Jones. “The way
I learned to undergo tests and rise to the occasion has
shaped me into who I am today.”
Following his time in the Marines, Jones decided to
join the FBI—looking to experience another challenge in
another field. “I wanted to be a part of something bigger
than myself, and I wanted to continue to serve my country,”
he explains.
Jones was honored for the dismantlement of a
domestic terrorist group early in his career. Later, he
served as the chief of the Osama Bin Laden Unit of the
Counterterrorism Division, senior liaison to the Joint
Special Operations Command and legal attaché in Kabul,
Afghanistan.
Additionally, Jones has assisted in the training of Joint
Special Operations Command members, teaching site
exploration in a combat zone and interviewing through
translators, among other techniques and procedures.
He has held leadership roles at the headquarters in
Washington, D.C., at field offices in Detroit, Buffalo,
Cleveland and Indianapolis, and in Iraq and Afghanistan
over the course of his career.
In his new position here in Pittsburgh, Jones is the
special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office.
The Pittsburgh Division is one of 56 FBI divisions, with
400 sub-offices and resident agencies. Jones oversees more
than 300 agents, intelligence analysts and support staff in
the Pittsburgh domain, which includes all of western PA
and all of the state of West Virginia.
“We cover every violation of criminal law—about 400
violations,” he notes. “I’m in charge of the agents and
professional staff that investigate those violations.
“I’ve been all over the world in 32 years, and I’ve seen
bad places and bad things. Our society is not perfect, but
it’s the best I’ve seen around the world. We get rights and
privileges that are not experienced by the vast majority
of the world. The FBI makes sure that people are free to
experience those rights on a daily basis.”
Jones’ goal is to continue to show the American public
what the FBI is capable of, and to make sure people can live
in a diverse, happy and free community where everyone
is free to exercise the rights promised to them by the
Constitution without the worry of interference.
“I have very much enjoyed working for the FBI—there’s
a great sense of camaraderie and belonging, and my
experience has been one similar to the Marines where
I enjoy working with like-minded people. The FBI is a
diverse organization, but everyone is committed to public
service and to protecting the people of the United States
and the Constitution,” says Jones. “I feel so fortunate to
be able to do my job and the good work of the FBI in
Pittsburgh, a place that I love—my home.”   ■
PETERS TOWNSHIP
❘
DECEMBER 2018/JANUARY 2019
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