2026 Blue KC Answering the Call Honoree Will Akin – Month of April
Community Leader
“I do what I do because it just feels right for me.”
That statement by Clay County Sheriff Will Akin is a good summary of a career spent in the military and then in law enforcement. But early in his life, he looked like anything but a person who would spend his adult life defending freedom and protecting safety.
He grew up with no military influence from family or close friends. And he didn’t like cops, because he usually was trying to avoid any contact. He grew up all around California. His mom left his dad when he was 3-years old, and they moved when things got tough, including being homeless for two years as an adolescent.
He dropped out of high school at age 16 to support his mom and brother. A couple of years later, one of his friends shot a guy during an attempted robbery, and Akin knew he had to get out of that neighborhood and lifestyle.
His friends had talked about joining the Army—even though he was the only one who followed through—so he went to the recruiting office, where he was told he needed a GED to enlist. He got the GED, but worried about how he’d fit in.
It turns out that the structure the Army provided was exactly what he needed. The Army also gave him ample opportunities to succeed, something he hadn’t experienced previously.
“I was a parachute rigger when I enlisted,” he said. “Not only did I get to pack parachutes, I got to jump out of airplanes and get paid for it. I finally made e5, which made me eligible to go to jump master school. I was on top of the world.”
Even if he did choose to jump off from there.
He continued to rise in the ranks, eventually becoming a Black Hawk helicopter pilot before asthma ended that chapter of his career.
He was in the Army for 8 1/2 years, and he looks back on it as a positive, even though he admits that “95 percent of it sucked at the time.”
Going into law enforcement made the most sense for his next career, though he had to admit he didn’t like cops. But police work was nothing like he expected or experienced growing up.
“I can look back and see how many people’s lives I’ve been able to impact in a positive way, even people I’ve had to arrest, just finding them the resources and giving them advice,” he said. “I never thought I’d be in that position. And I’m really glad that God took me in this path, because it’s been extremely rewarding.”
He’s moved 38 times in 50 years, but he’s found a community in Liberty, Mo. The community has embraced him as well, as he became the first sheriff in the 200-year history of Clay County to run unopposed, at least the first in the last 68 years that they’ve found election records.
Because of his decades of work, Akin is the April recipient of the “Blue KC Answering the Call” award, sponsored by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City and benefitting The Battle Within. The Battle Within is an organization that helps former military personnel and first responders cope with the sometimes-hidden trauma of their careers.
He currently serves as a mentor with The Battle Within, an organization he initially joined for the benefit of a friend.
“I didn’t need the battle within, or so I thought,” he said. “But The Battle Within was life-changing for me. There, I was in a safe environment with other people who experienced the same things, and I felt like finally I wasn’t alone. I finally felt like I was just able to let it go.”
So, after three decades serving his country and his little corners of it, Akin is right where he’s supposed to be. In more ways than one.
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