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!