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Photo caption: During Week 7, recruits have their first day of water safety training, one of the most physically and mentally demanding trainings they will endure while in the Conservation Officer Training Academy.
Due to the Presidents Day holiday Monday, we arrived at the Michigan State Police Training Academy for Week 7 at 1000 Tuesday. After changing into our recruit uniforms, we reported to the classroom to review the prior week’s exams. After chow, we reported back to the classroom where one of our academy staff instructors, Conservation Officer Richard Cardenas, showed us what a ticket looked like, how to write a ticket, and how to use the different systems available to help us in our daily work as COs. My classmates and I thought this was very useful because we need to know how to operate these systems efficiently once we’re in the field.
Wednesday’s physical training consisted of an upper body workout with pushups, situps and flutter kicks, followed by stretching. Our morning lesson was with the Cardinal Group, an organization that offers training on responding to behavioral health crises. I learned a lot that day regarding the different ways you can talk to a person in crisis and how to identify trigger points that may help them, such as what may make them upset, what they like, and what they may want to talk about. After dinner we returned to the classroom for more health crisis training.
Thursday morning began with PT in the tank (swimming pool). During this tank session, we focused on swim techniques that we’ve learned so far, while focusing on proper form. We were preparing for our first day of water safety training, which was coming up on Friday. I have very little swim background besides swimming at the beach in the summer months.
Thursday morning, the Cardinal Group came back for one final day of instruction. The day consisted of scenarios with people pretending to be in crisis. We split into groups and did different scenarios of situations we might experience in the field and how we should respond. After lunch, we finished the scenarios and then debriefed on how we thought we did. I don’t have prior law enforcement experience, so the scenarios help me learn about different situations and how to handle them. After dinner, we had our exams for the week. These exams consist of topics covered during the week. After exams, two of our academy instructors, COs Anna Cullen and Josh Reed, showed us how to navigate our computers and how to more efficiently look up different laws.
Photo caption: Recruits practice securing water victims in deep water and swimming with them.
Friday morning was our last PT for the week, which was spent in the tank. After breakfast, we reported to the locker room, changed back into our swimsuits and returned to the tank for our first day of water safety training. We worked on different swim form techniques and were taught how to properly tread water. Our water safety instructors taught us the different ways to help a victim in the water, such as how to properly secure a victim and swim with them. We worked on different diving skills and how to enter the water if a victim is hurt. I learned a lot during this lesson since I do not have a strong swim background and feel these are very helpful skills.
This week was filled with challenges and a lot of different learning experiences that will help all of us once we are in the field as COs. As we move forward as a class, we are realizing how close we need to be to utilize our different strengths and weaknesses. Each week I see the class starting to push each other more and becoming successful as a whole. I also see everyone bouncing ideas off each other and making group decisions.
In the beginning of the academy, we did not know the best course of action, but as the weeks progress, I have seen the class starting to make decisions quicker and helping each other. I have been uplifted by my classmates when I’ve needed help. As each week arrives, the training becomes more intense, but as we grow as a class, we are excited to take on the next set of challenges that come our way.
