About Dave Cash

Dave Cash is a Stone County resident, a husband, a father, and a man whose career has taken him from the streets of Springfield to the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan — and back home, where he’s ready to serve his community in a new way.

Dave and his wife Melody have been married 43 years. They raised four kids together and now enjoy nine grandchildren.

Education

Dave’s commitment to service has always been matched by a commitment to understanding. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Administration from the University of Central Missouri and a Master of Science in International Affairs with an emphasis in Middle Eastern Studies from Missouri State University. He also studied Arabic language and Middle Eastern politics at Al-Balqa Applied University in Amman, Jordan — preparation that proved invaluable during his years advising U.S. military forces overseas.

Law Enforcement Career — Springfield Police Department (1990–2010)

Dave spent 21 years with the Springfield Police Department, building one of the most diverse and decorated law enforcement careers in the region.

He began in uniformed patrol, responding to the full range of calls — disturbances, assaults, robberies, shootings, and homicides. Promoted to Corporal, he became a Major Crimes Investigator in the Patrol Division, processing and investigating serious crime scenes as the first officer on scene.

Dave was then assigned to the Criminal Investigations Division in the Persons Unit, conducting follow-up investigations on violent crimes including shootings, stabbings, robberies, assaults, and stalking cases. He achieved a 97% clearance rate on all stalking cases during this assignment — a remarkable number that reflects both his investigative skill and his attention to detail. He served as lead investigator resulting in charges and convictions on multiple members of a Neo-Nazi white supremacist group.

During his career Dave served in five specialized units: the Federal Fugitive Task Force under the U.S. Marshals, the Safe Streets Strike Force gang unit, the Criminal Investigations Division Persons Unit, the Major Crimes Investigator assignment, and the Community Oriented Policing Unit. He received a Letter of Commendation from the U.S. Marshals Service during his time on the Federal Fugitive Task Force, where he worked alongside the FBI, DEA, and the Department of Justice targeting federal and felony fugitives.

Dave also served as a Field Training Officer, a member of the Springfield Police Training Advisory Board, and was Instructor Development certified through the Center for Domestic Preparedness and the Department of Homeland Security. He graduated first in his class at the Springfield Leadership Academy.

Iraq — Baghdad (2005 and 2010–2011)

Dave first deployed to Iraq in 2005 as an International Police Trainer, teaching all aspects of policing to the newly forming Iraqi Police Force at the Baghdad Police Academy. He supervised multiple classrooms, managed Iraqi instructors, linguists, and students, and helped build the training curriculum from the ground up.

He returned to Baghdad from 2010 to 2011 as a Law Enforcement Professional assigned to the Stability Transition Team, advising U.S. Army and Iraqi Federal Police intelligence units on targeting terrorist networks, building evidentiary cases, and conducting detainee operations. During this deployment Dave personally identified a suspect plotting to kill a U.S. Army Colonel — a direct result of his investigative work on the ground.

Afghanistan — Multiple Deployments (2011–2014, 2017–2018)

Dave served multiple tours in Afghanistan across some of the most demanding assignments available to a civilian law enforcement advisor.

From 2011 to 2012 in Laghman and Ghazni Provinces, he trained U.S. Army and host nation forces in Battlefield Forensics — evidence collection under combat conditions with no margin for error, and targeting high value individuals. He identified two Taliban suspects of an IED cell through DNA evidence he personally collected in Ghazni.

From 2013 to 2014 in Kandahar, Dave served as a Senior Law Enforcement Advisor and Liaison Officer for the Investigative Surveillance Unit covering six provinces across southern and western Afghanistan. Working alongside U.S. Special Forces and NATO partners, he managed and supervised 18 LEP investigators in the field, briefed commanding officers up to the rank of General, and coordinated intelligence reporting across multiple provinces. This position required a Top Secret security clearance.

From 2017 to 2018 in Helmand Province, Dave was assigned to U.S. Army Task Force Forge and the U.S. Marines Task Force Southwest as a Senior Police Advisor. He led a counter-corruption team targeting corrupt Afghan military and police personnel, working to build cases and bring them before the Afghan Major Crimes Task Force and Anti-Corruption Judicial Center. He served as Inspector General advisor for the Marines and Afghan Army, investigating fraud, waste, and abuse. For two years he tracked and investigated extrajudicial killings and human rights violations within the Afghan Army’s 215th Corps to ensure compliance with the Leahy Amendment. This position required a Top Secret security clearance.

Background Investigations (2016)

Between overseas deployments, Dave worked as a contracted Background Investigator for Keypoint/Perspecta, conducting national security clearance investigations at all levels up to Top Secret on behalf of the Office of Personnel Management.

Community Leadership

Dave’s service has never been limited to his professional career. From 2000 to 2004 he served as Chairman of the Board of the Knights Christian Athletic Organization, growing the organization from a zero operating budget to $50,000 under his leadership — tripling its size and earning non-profit status. He simultaneously served as Athletic Director, managing 17 teams across five sports.

From 2003 to 2015 he directed Camp Everlasting, a non-denominational Bible camp, managing every aspect of operations including staff selection, budgets, insurance, and programming.

Dave has also volunteered as an ESL instructor for the Hispanic community through Grupo Latino Americano in Springfield, and served as an adjunct guest lecturer at Missouri State University before graduate students on the topics of Iraq, Afghanistan, culture, history, and security.

Why the County Clerk’s Office

Every chapter of Dave Cash’s career comes back to the same foundation — getting the record right. Chain of custody. Battlefield Forensics. Evidence integrity. Accurate documentation. Accountability to the people depending on him.

From crime scenes in Springfield to combat zones in Afghanistan, Dave has understood that the record is everything. A case lives or dies by the quality of its documentation. Justice depends on it.

The Stone County Clerk’s office is the keeper of the public record. It deserves someone who has spent a career understanding exactly what that means — and who has the credentials, the discipline, and the proven track record to do it right.

That person is Dave Cash.