Gary R. Barksdale was appointed chief postal inspector for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in March 2019. He reports to the Postmaster General and chief executive officer.

In this role, Barksdale oversees all operations of the Postal Inspection Service, which includes its national headquarters, 16 field divisions, two service centers and a national forensic laboratory, which are staffed by postal inspectors, postal police officers, and professional, technical and administrative staff.

Before his appointment to chief postal inspector, Barksdale served as the deputy chief inspector at Headquarters for three years. He was responsible for several of the Postal Inspection Service’s functional areas including Criminal Investigations, Communications, Governance and Strategy and Security.

During his time as deputy chief inspector, Barksdale led the Postal Inspection Service against the nation’s opioid epidemic through the newly formed Contraband Interdiction and Investigations Group, which drives agency strategies to enhance drug interdictions. He was also instrumental in leading the Postal Inspection Service’s strategic planning, managing its responses to critical incidents, and representing the agency before Congress.

Barksdale began his law enforcement career as a police officer in Chesapeake, Virginia, where he served for seven years, including four years as a detective. In 1999, Barksdale was appointed as a United States postal inspector. Since then, he has served in the Los Angeles, Houston, Phoenix and Washington divisions, as well as at Headquarters. During his tenure as postal inspector, he conducted numerous criminal investigations of identity theft, mail theft, robbery and assaults. Barksdale has also held several executive leadership positions within the Postal Inspection Service.

Barksdale received a Bachelor of Science from Old Dominion University in Virginia. He is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the International Association of Financial Investigators. Barksdale is also the chairman of the Universal Postal Union’s Postal Security Group and is a Certified Protection Professional—considered the gold standard certification for security management professionals.

Latest update: March 2023