COLUMBIA, SC - The South Carolina Department of Public Safety has promoted John Travis Manley to Lieutenant Colonel of the South Carolina Highway Patrol. In his new role as Deputy Commander of Operations, Manley will oversee the field majors and Troop Operations.

Manley, who has served with the Highway Patrol since August 1991, was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on June 29. He previously held the position of Major in Field Operations and before that was Commander of Troop One (Columbia) and previously Troop Six (Charleston). 

“Lieutenant Colonel Manley has invested 30 years and his entire career in serving the South Carolina Highway Patrol,”  said SCHP Colonel Chris Williamson. “He has excelled in managing field operations as well as in an administrative capacity, where he has done an outstanding job of overseeing the agency’s transition to SmartCOP,  which is our new Field Base Reporting and Records Management software.

Manley began his career in Berkeley County in 1991, transferring to Horry County in Troop Five in 1994. He was promoted to corporal in Troop Seven, Orangeburg, in 2005. Manley later was promoted to sergeant in Orangeburg and Calhoun counties in 2008 and then to First Sergeant in Aiken in 2010. In 2013, he was promoted to Lieutenant in Troop Six and then to Captain of Troop Six a year later. He was transferred to Troop One as Captain in 2018 and, most recently, was promoted to Major in Field Operations in June 2019.

A native of Surfside Beach, Manley and his wife, Jennifer, live in Gilbert. They have three sons: Damon, 26; Rylan, 18; and Holliston, 10.

The South Carolina Department of Public Safety includes the Highway Patrol, State Transport Police, Bureau of Protective Services, Office of Highway Safety and Justice Programs, and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers Hall of Fame. Our mission is to ensure public safety by protecting and serving the people of South Carolina and its visitors.