Training Academy No. 13: Week 10

March 9-13, 2025
Author: 32-year-old recruit from Coldwater, Michigan

Photo caption: A recruit demonstrates their first-aid skills on a baby during a scenario.

We arrived back at the Michigan State Police Training Academy facility on Sunday, March 9, at 1800 hours. After check in, we quickly changed from our business attire to our recruit uniforms and reported to the classroom where we discovered that the focus for the week would be first aid and standardized field sobriety testing. Each recruit received a medical bag and assigned equipment we would be using for the week. We were also informed that due to our success over the past two weeks during water safety training, we were being rewarded with access to our cellphones for 30 minutes each night. This was a very pleasant surprise. This is the first time we would be able to speak to our families and loved ones while at the academy. I found this to be extremely helpful for my mental strength, which is required to get through each difficult week of training. The past nine weeks undoubtably have been difficult for our loved ones as well, so it was very nice to be able to have communication with them.

Monday morning at 0600 hours, we reported to physical training where we conducted a timed mile run around the MSP Training Academy drive track. We then conducted a series of group stretches and finished the session with a three-mile recovery run. At 0800 hours, we reported to the classroom for our first section of first-aid training, taught by COs Casey Pullum and Dan Robinson. During the class, we received a refresher in CPR for adults, children and infants. We also covered how to properly wrap injuries and received automated external defibrillator training.

Photo caption: A recruit uses an automated external defibrillator during a first-aid scenario. AEDs analyze the hearts rhythm and deliver electrical shock currents to people who do not have a pulse. 

Tuesday morning, we had PT in the tank (swimming pool) which consisted of swimming laps back and forth. Utilizing the water safety training from the past two weeks, we practiced rescuing an unresponsive victim. We then conducted a circuit style workout consisting of laps in the tank, deep water pushups, medicine ball Russian twists, a water ruck (walking in the water while carrying weight) and medicine ball air squats. We then reported to the classroom for additional first aid training. We were taught the different types of bleeding and how to effectively stop the bleeding. We practiced packing different kinds of wounds and the proper application of a tourniquet. The instructors put us through a series of exercises applying tourniquets on ourselves and our classmates under high stress – blindfolded and without the use of some appendages to simulate applying it with an injury. I personally found the self-application training to be very useful, since we may only have seconds to properly apply our own tourniquet before we could pass out. We ended the day with two pass or fail scenarios, conducting CPR and using an AED on an adult and an infant. The entire class successfully passed the scenarios.

Photo caption: A recruit wraps a person’s arm during a first-aid scenario.

For Wednesday morning PT, we went on our first off-campus run. The run was approximately three miles and took us down roadways surrounding the academy. I was excited to hear we were finally able to run somewhere other than around the drive track. The change of scenery was very refreshing; this was by far my favorite run so far. After our run, we returned to the drive track where we completed a series of exercises. We then returned to the classroom for three additional pass or fail first-aid scenarios where we had to utilize all the skills we had learned during the week. One-by-one, as each recruit successfully passed their scenario, I could see the level of confidence increase in my classmates and myself. These skills are extremely invaluable since COs are often the first responders to traumatic and life-threatening incidents. Afterwards, we transitioned to our introduction to standardized field sobriety testing, taught by COs Brian Lasanen and Robinson. We finished our day by taking lengthy legal and first aid exams.

Photo caption: A recruit carries their first-aid bag up a flight of stairs to respond to a first-aid scenario.

Thursday morning PT consisted of a circuit style work out, involving pullups, air squats, situps and leg lifts. We ended the session with multiple line sprints. Thursday’s class consisted of additional sobriety testing training. As COs, we will encounter intoxicated individuals operating motor vehicles, snowmobiles, watercrafts and off-road vehicles. It is important for us to understand the indicators of intoxicated drivers and how to take appropriate enforcement action to ensure the safety of others. As a pre-certified police officer, I took extreme pride in operating while intoxicated (OWI) enforcement and was eager to share my skills and knowledge with my classmates as they learned the proper way to administer sobriety testing.

As this week’s class commander, I was thankful for my classmates assisting me with keeping the class organized and on time. I can tell that we are coming together as a collective unit to accomplish each task presented to us. We are eager to continue working together to accomplish our collective goal of becoming COs.

Photo caption: Recruits practice a training scenario in which an officer is injured in the line of duty.
 
Read Week 11.