Graduation and back home.

Well, I made it. Friday morning was kinda bittersweet. It was good to know that all of us had accomplished our goal. We're all graduates of Session 247 and will forever be linked together by that accomplishment. But it was also time to say goodbye. Goodbye to the Academy, to the Staff, and most of all, to the friends that had been made over the past 11 weeks. Some had become very good friends and they will be missed. I almost didn't get to say goodbye to my roommate. I stayed the last night in the dorm; he didn't. But we caught up with each other after graduation so all is good. Thanks Jake! I appreciate everything.

Glenn Hutchings...we've got some roads to ride when you get out this way.

Glenn Riddle...get that knee healed up. when you decide to come back and finish the YBR, don't forget to give me a shout. I'll go back and run it with you.

Stevie DeMarco...thanks to you and your wife for going out of your way to get those shirts. And thanks for waking me up in Philly.

Marc and the "7th Floor Mafia"...you guys are hilarious.

Brian Johnson...congrats on your promotion. I'm sure I''ll see you sometime in Nashville.

And to the rest of my classmates, especially Section 2...its been a pleasure. You all are great!

To my instructors: Paul Bertrand, Ken Myers, Buddy McGinnis, Bob May, Lt. Col. Jim Vance, and Kevin Chimento. Thank you!

To my family, friends, and colleagues who encouraged me and supported me and never lost faith in me...Thank you so much. I couldn't have done this without you.

I'm back to work now, packing up my office, planning the transition back to Patrol as a Lieutenant, and preparing for the next challenges that the job and life bring me.

So that's it. This blog is officially done. Thanks to all of you who followed and offered advice and encouragement.

Marine One

This morning, I had my last final exam. I think that I can go out on a limb and say that I passed Buddy's class. I then spent some time this afternoon and some more time tonight packing. In between, we were given a tour of Marine One, The President's helicopter. Although it is spotless, inside and out, we were all surprised how relatively plain it is inside. I think we all expected something a little more luxurious for the POTUS. Still, it was pretty cool to see Marine One up close and personal. After we got back, we had a "Graduation Party" down in The Atrium. Plenty of food, beverages, and good times!

Graduation practice is in the morning. After that, we're pretty much free until graduation Friday morning. Thursday is Family Day with a couple of planned activities. It looks like I'm going to have a pretty good size cheering section for me on Friday. In addition to my family, I've got two Captains, one Lieutenant, and two of my Detectives coming to make sure that I actually was here and not somewhere else taking an eleven week vacation. I wish a couple of other people could be here as well but I guess I'm lucking to have people coming. Some of my classmates, especially some of the International Students, don't have anyone coming to see them graduate.

Almost done!

Graduation Week

Graduation Week is here! I have one more final exam and then I'm finished with the academics and that's my Forensics final tomorrow morning at 8:00. I got my grade on my Legal final today as well as my grade for the course..."A". Also got my grade on my third Media project from the Colonel..."A". Unless I just totally blow the Forensics final, I should come out of here with all "A's". If you would have asked me 10 weeks ago after I first started, I would have told you that I'd be lucky to graduate. The instructors here are great, though and will go out of their way to help anyone.

This morning was also my final fitness assessment. We had an assessment when we first started 10 weeks ago and this was to see if there was any improvement in our overall strength, endurance, and health. Officially, I lost 9.3 pounds, 1/4 on my waist, body fat percentage went from 18 to 15, grip strength increased, push ups went up by 11, plank time increased by 1:00, and my 1.5 mile time deceased by 56 seconds. Afterwards, we were presented with our bricks.

This past weekend, it was back to DC for some more sightseeing. First stop was The Pentagon Memorial. I got to see the indoor memorial when we had our tour of The Pentagon several weeks ago but didn't get to see the outdoor memorial.









The Memorial starts with the youngest victim, in this case, a three year old girl, and move chronologically to the oldest victim. The way it is laid out, it also runs in the same direction as the plane when it struck The Pentagon.

Also went to Arlington National Cemetery. I have always seen pictures in books and on TV and films but, until you actually go there and see the grave markers, you just cannot comprehend it. I also made it in-time to see the Changing of The Guard at the Tomb of The Unknowns. Talk about something that is impressive and powerful, this is it. The Guard is changed every hour, on the hour. Its a must see.




















Graduation practice is Wednesday. Thursday is the NA Family Luncheon and Thursday night is The Social. Friday morning at 10:00 is graduation. First thing first...Forensics final tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Yellow Brick Road

Today was the day we've all been waiting for...our Yellow Brick Road challenge run. I have to say that we've been lucky the entire time we've been here. We've always had good weather for our challenges. With that being said, today's weather sucked! Rainy and cold. And it only rained more and got colder as the day went on. The trail was nothing but mud by the my group started. Sorry guys...no pics from me on this one. Couldn't risk ruining the camera and I wasn't smart enough to think about buying a waterproof disposable one. My bad. There were a few reports of injury and I think they actually had to med evac one out but for the most part, everybody came out okay and everybody had fun.

Right now, I'm in the basement of the Madison dorm doing laundry and trying to salvage my shoes and clothes that I wore. So is everyone else...that's why I'm at Madison. A lot of people just gave up on their shoes and clothes and just trashed them. I'm going to at least try to save them.

Just two days of class this week and two next week before we're finished. Graduation practice on Wednesday, graduation on Friday morning. When we started, I thought it would never get here. Now that its here, its like where did the time go?

For those of you who know me, you know that I'm about as techno stupid as they come. I just figured out how to do this post from my phone so I've been writing this while waiting on my laundry. Laundry (round 1) is done now so I guess this post is too.

Week #10

Week 10 is here! For some of us, if not most, this will be the final week of classes before graduation. I think most of the instructors plan on holding their final exams this week even though next Monday and Tuesday is reserved for finals. I've got two finals and a presentation tomorrow and another final on Thursday. Yellow Brick Road run is this Wednesday. Weather is calling for a cold rain which will make getting muddy even more fun.

On Saturday, a group of us went up to DC to the National Museum of American History and also to some of the monuments. This was my first visit to the Vietnam War Memorial.
You don't realize how many lives were lost during that war until you actually see "The Wall" and all the names etched on it. I know that many lives have been lost during all of the wars but this memorial really puts its into perspective. I encourage everyone to visit all of the war memorials and remember the servicemen and women who gave their lives for our country so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have.

The final tally was posted from the Silent Auction. The 247th set the record with over $21,000 raised. $13,000 will be donated to COPS Kids and $8,000 will be donated to the Law Enforcement Memorial Building Fund.

Silent Auction

Tonight, our session held a silent auction with all the proceeds going to Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S. Kids). Each session holds a silent auction to raise to raise money for this worthwhile charity. I bid on a couple of items. Didn't get the one I really wanted but I did walk away with a couple of Harley t-shirts, 2 hats, 2 coffee mugs, and 2 mouse pads courtesy of Killer Creek Harley Davidson in Roswell, GA for $65.00. Like I said, its for a good cause. Part of the auction was a live auction where any item that received a bid for over $100.00 went to live auction amongst the highest bidders. John Hearn of Philly PD acted as auctioneer and did a great job. Some of the bidding got pretty lively and apparently some of the cops here make a lot more money than I do. Several thousand dollars were raised here tonight. Great job 247!

Journey to OZ

This morning was our Journey to OZ challenge run. 5.2 miles through the mud and muck (it rained the past three days). The sun was shining when I got up this morning but, by the time we went out for the run at 10:30, it became a little overcast. It was also cold. For whatever reason, I was a little slow dressing out and didn't leave myself much time to stretch and warm-up. With the colder temps., I was afraid I might pull a muscle. I guess I got enough stretching in because I did fine. After about the first mile, the cold didn't bother me anymore either.

Most of the run was through the woods and trails around Lake Lunga. Unfortunately, the trails aren't that wide so there were times when I got bogged down behind some slower runners/walkers. About the time I was able to make a pass and get around some of them, my right foot found a mud hole. That was real pleasant. Nothing like running in wet socks and shoes. I was able to keep a pretty good pace throughout, though. And I made my goal of finishing under 1 hour; I finished at 57:20...about middle of the pack. No problems with the knee either. If you would have asked me 10 weeks ago if I could run 5+ miles, the answer probably would've been "NO". I'm proud of myself and of everyone else here. The last runner came in at about 75 minutes so, we're all qualified for next week's Yellow Brick Road Run.

This afternoon's Enrichment Speaker was Bobby Smith. It was a good presentation. This man has had plenty of tragedy in his life. He's a Louisiana State Trooper who was shot in the face in 1986. Because of the shooting, he's totally blind. He also lost his daughter in a traffic crash and his son to a drug overdose. In spite of all this tragedy, the man has obtained his doctorate degree, written three books, and instructs new recruits at the Louisiana Academy.

We're almost done!

Week #9

Week #9 and the countdown has begun. We started back today after the Thanksgiving break. Everyone is already complaining about the food here again after eating real food for several days. I have to admit...dinner tonight was not good.

Tomorrow is our Journey to OZ Challenge Run. 5.2 miles to be completed in 80 minutes. A lot of people are worried about this run because of the distance and because it is timed. If you don't make the run in the allotted time, you don't get to participate in the Yellow Brick Road Run next week. I'm not too concerned, though. I think I could walk 5.2 in 80 minutes but I have no intention of walking. Except for the earlier runs where my knee was hurting, I've done well in the runs. And besides, I've already bought my stand for my brick. I'm actually hoping to finish in under an hour. If I can keep my 10 minute mile pace, I should make it. Weather is looking good for tomorrow but it will be cool...temps probably in the 40's when we start.

Week #8

Like I said...short week. I hope to be out of here and on the road by 2:00. Hopefully, no later than 2:30. That should have me getting home around 11:30. I just finished loading up the car so I can leave as soon as I'm out of class.

Everyone have a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving and I'll be back next week posting for Week #9.

Week #7 - DONE!

We're getting close. It's been a busy weekend here at the NA. After pretty much an uneventful Thursday and Friday, yesterday we did tours of the Capital Building, The White House, and The Pentagon. Up and gone by 6:30 yesterday morning to be on Capital Hill by 8:00. I still can't believe the traffic around here...even early on a Saturday morning, I-95 towards DC was packed. We ran a convoy up to DC, with some of the cars even running the blue lights. Everyone pretty much got out of our way. When we got there, we parked right in front of The Capital. It was a beautiful day, too! Cold early but not too bad as the day went on and not a cloud in the sky. One of the guys in the session is US Capital Police and he arranged everything. In fact, we had the Capital Building to ourselves for the tour. That being said, I really expected more. The tour was okay but, they didn't even take us to the House or Senate Chambers.
Next was the subway trip to The White House. This was my first subway trip in DC and I'll say this...its the cleanest subway system I've ever been on.

The White House was, in my opinion, the poorest excuse for a tour I've ever seen. You have to jump through hoops to get in, which I understand but after that, it's like, "okay, you're on your own but you can't go here, you can't go there, and you can't take any pictures". 10 minutes and you're done. We walked around downtown to find a place to eat for lunch and one of the guys even heckled some protesters. It was great!

Back on the subway to The Pentagon. This tour was the highlight of the day. The Pentagon cops went out of their way for us and they acted like it was their pleasure to do it. Once again, we had the place to ourselves. Take as many pictures as you want to unless they specifically say not to. They didn't. I had heard stories about The Pentagon pretty much being its own little self-contained city and it really is. We visited the indoor 9/11 Memorial and got to see things that the general public does not get to see on their tour. Like I said, The Pentagon cops were great.

Tonight was Louisiana Night down in the Atrium. The Louisiana students put this one together and it was a good time. Authentic Cajun food and just a lot of fun. They asked us to bring patches or pins for the band that was playing for us so I went back upstairs to get a handful of ORPD patches. One of the guys that I've become pretty good friends with, Glenn Hutchins from Washington State, was also going upstairs to get some patches. Glenn also rides a Harley so he and I have plenty to talk about. Anyway, he says he has a gift for me. He hands me a Harley T-shirt from his home dealership in Bellingham, Washington and says that he had his wife pick it up as a gift for my recent promotion. Thanks Glenn!

Very short week (day and a half of classes) and then its Thanksgiving break.

International Night

Today started off not so bright and too early. We had our fitness challenge, the "Winged Monkey Assault" today. 30 minutes of pretty much non-stop circuit training. Everybody did great! Next challenge is the 5.2 mile "Journey to OZ". Unfortunately, its right after we return from Thanksgiving break. Note to self: easy on the turkey and dressing.

After the challenge, students in Col. Vance's and Ms Parrish's media classes left for DC to visit the Newseum. This place was cool! We spent a good 3 1/2 hours there and I didn't get to see everything. The FBI exhibits were good and the 9/11 exhibits, especially the short film, was very moving. The Pulitzer Prize photos were phenomenal!




















After dinner and trip to the basement to do laundry, it was back upstairs to the Atrium for International Night. This is where the International student get to show off. Plenty of their native foods and of course, drinks (as in adult beverages). Needless to say, it was a very good time.





























P.S. For whatever reason, the pictures don't always post they way they do when I'm writing this. If it doesn't look good or the pictures seem to be out of order, I apologize. I don't know what to do to fix it.

Good News Today

Okay, let's try this for the third time. Apparently, I'm having trouble posting tonight. Anyway, I got the word today...I got promoted! I was in Col. Vance's media class when I got the call late this afternoon. I had to excuse myself in the middle of the Colonel's lecture to take the call. During the break, I apologized to the Colonel and told him about the call. Of course, he announces to the class that I got promoted. Everyone congratulated me. That was nice and I really appreciated it. The promotion takes effect on Jan. 8th and I do have to go back to Patrol. I had hoped that I would get to stay in CID but in the back of my mind, I knew that I would have to go to Patrol. And, I'm going to have to give up a few things that I've grown accustomed to...like my office, my car, my weekends off. The good news is that my dry cleaning bill should drop drastically now. Seriously, the good news is that two of my Detectives also got promoted so, congratulations to them.

Winged Monkey Assault tomorrow morning followed by a field trip to the Newseum in DC tomorrow afternoon. The field trip is for the students in Colonel Vance's classes and from what I've been told, the Newseum is a great place to visit. International Night is tomorrow night...this promises to be fun.

The end is near and coming quicker than any of us expected.

Thanks to all of you who supported me and encouraged me throughout the process for promotion. I promise, I won't let you down.

Week #7 - IACP Dinner

After a long weekend off and a trip home, I'm back to start week #7. Time is really starting to fly now and before we know it, we'll be graduating. We've got a full week of classes this week. Next week, its just Monday and out at 3:30 on Tuesday for the Thanksgiving break. We won't have to be back until the following Tuesday. I've got all my work done except for my PT labs and I'll get them done this weekend.

Our section finally got introduced to the garage during PT today. Our regular PT instructor is not big on running and he took off last week and part of this week to get married so, we've had a guest instructor. After about 20 minutes of warm-up in the gym, he took us to the garage. There, we did some more warming up. Apparently, that's their favorite saying here. They're busy kicking our collective @$$&$ during PT and they'll say, "We're just warming up". After the warm-ups, we did interval training. Bust your rear-end for a minute, rest for a minute, repeat for 20 minutes. We became real intimate with the garage ramps and the stairs. But, its all good.

After classes let out, we had to get dressed up for the IACP Dinner. It was held at the Officer's Club on the main side of the base. It was a good time; open bar would have been better but, at least the food was decent. Extra time in the gym tomorrow, though to work it off.

Still waiting on the word as to whether or not I got promoted.

Munchkin Run

The day started off with what was supposed to be a tour of the Hostage Rescue Team (HRT). Got up early and everything. Of course, when we got there, they told us that the tour had been canceled because the team had been called out, or something like that. Anyway, one of our counselors, Bob, talked to one of the guys over there that he knew and we ended up getting to see a couple of things. Of course, the obligatory Blackhawk helicopter. (No pictures please). They got upset when one of us tried to take a picture. We did get to tour their live fire house. Actually, this was pretty impressive. They had part of an airplane fuselage inside the building that they use fire training. We also got to see a few of their specialty trucks they play with. That was about the extent of the tour.

Next up was our Challenge Run. 4.2 miles. Another good day for JK! No pain in the knee and finished about middle of the pack in 44:15. The last hill was a killer! 30 minute circuit next week (the "Winged Monkey Assault").

This afternoon, we loaded up the buses for a trip to the National Law Enforcement Memorial. We had a ceremony there where three of my classmates played Amazing Grace on the bagpipes and one of my classmates played Taps on the trumpet. I took the Nikon and I think I took some pretty good pictures. I'll have to get Bob May to download them for me onto a CD-R along with the pics from the DC nighttime photo shoot.

I also got paper done for Bob's class last night. I just need to finish up my PT labs and I'll be done!

We've got a long weekend due to Friday being Veteran's Day. I'm done tomorrow at 12:00 ish.

Philly Trip

The Philly trip got me a little of track as far as my personal schedule goes. Had to do laundry tonight and apparently, so did everybody else. Pretty much had to camp out downstairs waiting for washers and dryers to become available. Got it done, though.

Did my one-on-one interview in Col. Vance's class today and I seemed to do a lot better in this one than I did in the first interview. Also got my midterm grade for my Legal class. I did pretty well on it and I'm going to have to do just as well, if not better, if I want to get an "A" for the term. Since this is a short week for us, that was it for Legal this week.

Also had my promotion interview this afternoon. It was done over the telephone. This was a lot tougher than I thought it would be and I just really don't know how I did. I didn't really know what to expect as far as questions and there was a couple of times where I thought I answered the question and then the Chief says, "that's fine but that's not what I asked you". Oops! I'm glad to be done with it, though. If I get the promotion, great! If I don't, I'm not going to cry about it. Either way, I should know by the end of the week.

The Philly trip was great! We left out of the Academy at 7:00 on Saturday morning and for awhile, it looked like we weren't going to get out of DC. The traffic was horrible and we got an hour behind right away. But once we got outside the beltway, we did good. When we got to the Philly City Limits, we picked up our escort, courtesy of Lt. John Hearn and the Philadelphia Police "Highway Patrol" Unit.
John is one of the Philly cops in our class and he is in charge of the Highway Unit. Everywhere we went was lights and siren. Talk about being treated like dignitaries. First stop was at Police Headquarters for a meet and greet with the Deputy Police Commissioner. Headquarters is a building straight out of 1960's architecture; early 1970's at the latest.

They treated us like we were kings. The Commissioner himself was not there but we got to go through his office like it was our own.

After the trip to Headquarters, it was time to go to the Philadelphia FOP Lodge for lunch. Again, they treated us like royalty. Good food and plenty of adult beverages...as much as we wanted.

After lunch, it was out to the Police Academy for a Bomb Squad, K-9, and SWAT demonstration.








After the Academy, it was time to check into the hotels. I was booked at the Le Meridien. Nice doesn't describe this place. This section of Philly was really beautiful and clean. The Philadelphia City Hall was just across the plaza from the hotel. Of course, the "occupy" protesters were there, camped out on the steps of City Hall. This building is huge. It takes up an entire city block. I know that people have a right to protest but, this was ridiculous. And from talking to a couple of Philly cops, they're pretty much powerless to do anything about it.









At 7:00, it was back on the buses for a trip to the Irish Pub for dinner and of course, an open bar.
Needless to say, a GREAT time was had by all.


Back at it early Sunday morning...WAY TOO EARLY. First stop was the Liberty Bell, Constitution Hall, and the US National Constitution Center. Talk about American History...its all here.








After the museums, it was a trip to South Philly and Geno's for real Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches. South Philly is old and full of walk-up row houses and narrow one-way streets. It looks like the neighborhood where Rocky lived in the first Rocky movie. People were lined-up around the block just to get a sandwich. Of course, us being the royalty that we are, didn't have to wait. They took us in the back door. This place was so clean that you could literally eat off of the floors. The food was great! Speaking of Rocky, the next stop was the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the famous steps. Yes, we all ran up the steps. The Rocky statue is no longer at the top of the steps. Several years ago they removed it and then brought it back. It now sits at the bottom and off to the side away from the steps.

Back on the buses for a trip to Citizens Bank Park for a tour of the Phillies Baseball Stadium and then to Criniti's Italian Restaurant for dinner. To say that they fed us well would be an understatement. Those of you that know me know what a big baseball fan I am so the trip to the ballpark was a big highlight for me.

After dinner, it was time to start back to DC.

This was a GREAT trip. Something I probably never would have done on my own. Its amazing the amount of history there is in this part of the country and its all within just a few hours drive of each other.

Special thanks to Lt. John Hearn and Lt. Stephen Clark of the Philadelphia PD for putting this trip together for us. And special thanks to the Philly Highway Cops that escorted us all over the City.

Week #5, DONE!

I'm officially at the halfway point. Getting ready for the Philly trip, uh, I mean the Philadelphia Police Department Law Enforcement Seminar. Should be a good time. We leave out at 7:00am and are scheduled to arrive at 10:00am with a Highway Patrol escort into Philadelphia. Police Headquarters at 10:30, FOP Luncheon at 11:30, Police Academy at 1:30 for bomb squad, K-9, and SWAT demonstrations. 5:00 to the hotel (The LeMeridien) and then an Irish Pub dinner at 7:00. Sunday is also a full day. Liberty Bell and Constitution Hall at 9:00, US Constitution Center at 10:30, lunch at Geno's Steaks for a real Philly Cheesesteak, 2:30 at the Philadelphia Art Museum for the "Rocky Steps Run", 4:00 tour of Citizens Bank Ballpark, and a 5:30 dinner at Criniti's Restaurant.

Got my papers finished for the Colonel Vance's media class this afternoon and got my first Leadership paper back from Paul Bertrand. Got an "A".

Got my camera ready for lots of pics.

Mid Terms

I had my group project today in Paul Bertrand's Leadership class. We did ours on the Rodney King incident. Our presentation seemed to go well and we kept it to about twenty minutes. We probably could've gone all day on that subject. I already turned in my papers for his class so it looks like I'm good, assuming he accepts what I wrote in my papers.

Also had my first mid term today in Ken Myers's Legal class. Ken is really good and makes the class enjoyable. The exam is take home, open book, 25 question multiple choice. He said to use tomorrow's class time for the test and to have it turned in by Monday morning. Since I'm going to Philly this weekend, I got the test done this afternoon and have already turned it in. It wasn't overly difficult but it wasn't a gimme either.

I also talked to Bob May today and got him to download the group pictures from the DC field trip to a thumb drive for me so I could post them. I should be pretty east to spot. Since I don't have my legal class tomorrow, I'll probably use the time to work on my policy paper for Bob's class.

Gonna go hit the gym for a little bit before calling it a night.