Week 8

Well this week wasn't all that exciting. We had our challenge run of 5.2 miles which I ran in 49.36, pretty good for someone who didn’t like to run until about a year ago. It consisted of two laps around part of the interior of the academy grounds near the DEA facility. Everyone finished under the 80 minute time limit. We began as a team we will end as a team. This week we also had a guest speaker for enrichment night, Michael Durant. If you all do not remember the name, he was the helicopter pilot, Super Six Four that was shot down and captured in Somalia in 1993 and held captive for eleven days. He was a member of the elite Night Stalkers Squadron and is now the owner and operator of an engineering company in Huntsville, Alabama. Mr. Durant is also an accomplished author and speaker. Mr. Durant regaled us with his story of his time in Mogadishu, Somalia during the Blackhawk Down incident and what it was like. Everyone was eagerly awaiting the weekend to come due to the impending Memorial Day holiday giving us a long weekend. I was able to get home for the first time and see everyone, wife, kids,  and other family. Hard to believe that it has been 8 weeks and the journey is almost over. Next up is the Yellow Brick Road Run.

Mike Durant

Week Seven

Safety Bear

Fred eating a Balut Egg

The latest in Danish fashion

Matt, Me, David, and James

Tomb of the unknowns

Tim, Scott, and David

 Well week 7 is all but over. We had several things go on this week. Monday we had a break and had C.O.P.S. Kids day at the academy. These are children who lost a law enforcement parent in the line of duty. Some lost their parent just this past year; others have been coming for a few years. The kids come and have counseling sessions then we tour them around the academy, they eat lunch with us and then they play in the gym. This year Rex Leath, who is an Alaska State Trooper, had his department ship up their safety mascot, Safety Bear. I got to play Safety Bear and the kids loved it. They had an absolute great time. It was truly an honor to be able to interact with these kids and possibly help them through this time in their lives. Also this week was with Winged Monkey Assault Challenge. This was 30 minutes solid of circuit training. They had everything from kettle bells, tractor tires, push or pull sleds, dumb bells, power bands, and much more. The placed them in the infield of the track and also around the track. We had to keep doing things for 30 minutes continuously and rotate through the stations. This was a butt kicker. Then after that we had international night. A time to get to know our international brother and sisters and get a taste, literally of their culture. Every international student had a table set up with a sample of their cuisine and libations. This was a fun time. Everyone had a good time and enjoyed their selves. This weekend a few of us went to Arlington Cemetery. This was an amazing trip. To see all of the monuments and all the graves was truly breathtaking. Each was in its precise alignment with the others and just seems to go on forever. While we were there it was the celebration of the 150^th anniversary of TAPS. While there they had a gathering of several trumpet players from all over, some as far as California to celebrate TAPS. Most of the players where members of Honor Guards from various departments and organizations. It was something to hear as several trumpets at one time played TAPS. After this was done, several of the trumpet players were placed at various monuments around the cemetery and at Noon started playing from one end to the other TAPS in a wave of music throughout. While there we also saw the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns. Seeing this ballet of precise military movements and reverence was breath taking. The honor and reverence that these soldiers show was truly astounding. These individuals truly epitomize the heart and soul of the military.

6 down 4 to go

Before the Race



After the Race

Thin Blue Line

Well chalk another down for class 249. We only have 4 more weeks to go before graduation. Things are really starting to fly by now. We have already filled out for our graduation guest list and trying to all the things done prior to the coming weeks. We are getting down to the wire and things are also getting hectic. Everyone with final papers due are getting them done and with group presentations we are all meeting coordinating out our responsibilities. This week we also crossed off another challenge. This week was a 2.2 mile run with 6 stations consisting of lunge walks, bear crawls, inverted pushups, mountain climbers, burpees, and dive bomber pushups. Finished in 29.45 minutes. I think I would have rather ran the 4.2 miles it was supposed to be. Hopefully Lake Lunga Recreational area will open this week so we can get a run in on the trails before the Yellow Brick Road Run. This week also started Police Memorial Week on Saturday with several of our classmates running in the 5k memorial run near the Law Enforcement Memorial in DC. Also this weekend on Sunday we went back and participated in the Candlelight Vigil held that night. This was truly an experience that I will never forget. On the wall I found Jerry Crabtree's name. Chief Crabtree's watch ended January 29, 2010 in a car accident. Chief Crabtree was retired from Coffee County Sheriff's Department and then went to work for the Franklin County Sheriff's Department. Chief Crabtree was a NA Graduate Class #64. Chief Crabtree had over 50 years in Law Enforcement and was still a go getter when he passed. He was a good friend and great mentor. He will always be missed.

Chief Crabtree

Week Five

Memorial Wreath dedicated by NA249



Lady Liberty

NYPD Helocopter

Well another week down and another challenge complete. We completed the 5k, Lion's Leap challenge. It was a good run, completed it in 29.15. This was about what I had expected. It was a little on the muggy side with it trying to rain and also hitting 88 degrees. We also had a very good enrichment session this week with Louisiana State Trooper Bobby Smith speaking. Trooper Smith was blinded in an adversarial encounter in 1986 while on duty. Trooper Smith spoke about dealing with the job and with family and how to separate the two and bring it home to our loved ones. I will have to say that this was one of the most informative and enlightening enrichment sessions we have attended. Trooper Smith brought up some very good points about our job and that it takes a special person to be a spouse to an officer and that we should not take them for granted. Also we should not just let things build up to the point that it explodes. This week was also the week for the New York trip. This trip was one of the best things that I have ever got the chance to experience. We started the trip with a visit to the NYPD Police Museum. This was a pretty cool place with all types of historical items from the NYPD’s history. After that we went to the Special Ops Division to tour the facility and see the equipment. Due to weather conditions our helicopter demonstration could not be preformed. We then went to One Police Plaza and got a tour of the Joint Operations Center (JOC) and the Real Time Crime Center. This was a technological marvel to say the least. Several banks of cameras and intel data streaming in from all over the city and country to assist officers, quite amazing. After the One Police Plaza tour we had time on our own to explore NY. Scott Pike, from Port Huron Michigan Police Department and I decided to walk around NY and site see a little bit and took the subway back to the hotel. That evening we all went out to eat at Carmine’s Restaurant. This was an Italian, Family Style restaurant that was tremendously good. The service and food was excellent. The next day we split up and half went to the Empire State Building and the other half went on a harbor tour on the FDNY Fire Boat. This was amazing seeing the sites from the harbor. After this we went to the World Trade Center Memorial. This was a somber experience. This really tugged at your heart being at the site of one of the most horrific terrorist attack in America’s history. Seeing all the names at the reflecting pools and the survivor tree that survived the attack was truly incredible. We then were treated to a true surprise. We were given permission to go up in One World Trade Center that is currently under construction but has recently surpassed the Empire State Building at the tallest building in New York. We were taken to the 39^th floor and then to the last completed floor the 71^st. This was a truly amazing view of the New York skyline. We then were allowed to go to the memorial museum. This was a sobering experience seeing all the artifacts from the aftermath. This was truly amazing. Well five more to go.

On the Fire Boat in the Harbor