Twitter

So this Twitter thing…have you heard about this, do you know about this? I thought to myself today that if, IF I were Twittering, today would have been a good one to Twitter about. In homage to Twitter, I’ve prepared some sample Twitters for the day…a true day in the life of an Academy Recruit.

(I promise I won’t use the word “Twitter” again!)

7:32am
Coffee. Glorious coffee. We have ‘scenarios’ in Arrest Control today. AC techniques, use of force continuum applications running through my head. Fear of failure, but motivated to hit it hard…

8:55am
First one down. Deputy S. was playing a drunk. I did ok, but talked too much, and used an arm bar to arrest when I should have used a simply, lowly ‘bent wrist’.

9:22am
Disaster! Deputy S. tripped on a mat, fell and broke his arm! We’re all outside of the mat room waiting for word on his condition. Rhod is inside splinting him up.

9:50am
Deputy S. just left for the hospital. He apologized to US. Unbelievable. Class. Pure class. Thanks, and GOOD LUCK!

10:12am
We keep on going, even after Deputy S.’s injury. Second scenario goes well. Garrett and I separate two ‘bar patrons’ who were going at it. We didn’t hesitate. I was proud of this.

11:15am
Scenario 3! Cody and I dealing with a domestic violence situation. Do well, no hesitation in arresting the guy, but could have been a little smoother, and could have communicated better. Cody’s a trip.

1:15pm
RAID active shooter scenarios in a vacant office building. The place smells like mildew. Dark. Dank. Creepy. And perfect. Using simunitions today. Suited up and ready to go.

1:55pm
Welts! These things hurt. Sergeant W. giving us some good instruction. We line up and practice shooting the simunitions on a partner, Tombstone “draw and duel” style. Rhod lays some head shots on my mask. Covered in orange paint!

2:35pm
First scenario down. We could have done better. Someone threw a round and missed the ‘shooter’. This could have been me, ha. Rhod, Jim, Chad and I in the contact group. We didn’t enter into the darkened room simultaneously (as we should have). Should have been slower, calmer, more methodical.

3:01pm
Second scenario. We rocked it. Emptied our mags into the shooter. I was point. Chad, Rhod right there with me. Situation was chaotic. SWAT guys yelling at us, simulating a real, loud, riotous scenario. We kept it slow, tight and organized. Felt good.

4:03pm
Third scenario. Failure! Scott was the ‘bad guy’, and armed with a sim-converted Glock. He definitely won. Tough scenario. We all got shot I think. Welts up the side of my chest. I had a weapon malfunction and took cover (which was WRONG!) and kind of screwed up the rest of my crew. Sgt. W. made us do it again….and again. Didn’t end the day on a high note…

*These last week has gone by extremely fast. We’re getting closer to the end of the Academy and can all feel it. I have a bunch of media that I’ll post soon, very soon. Sprayed in the face with pepper (OC) spray. Driven into the ground on our ‘Hell Day’ PT. And more, so much more. Stay tuned!*

Week 8 Done and Gone.

The FUN has BEGUN!!! (Now If I Only Had Time to Reflect on That…)

I had dinner with my parents this weekend.

We met in Castle Rock at this little, quiet place that has the distinction for us as being the place my sister broke the news of her engagement (to a great guy who treats her very well, and who is making an exceptional addition to the Air Force’s pilot corps as the pilot jock that every little boy wanted to be when he was 8…).

But yes. 8 Weeks. As the parents grilled me on the last two months (over a pretty good beer) I suddenly realized (again) that my life has become this, and this alone. I touched on this theme a bit in a previous posting, but it’s a pretty significant topic, I think…

I’m having fun, undoubtedly, and the days have become increasingly engaging. Firearms (with live ammo, in a blizzard this week!), Arrest Control, Investigative Procedures, etc … it’s all become much more ‘real’. But the tendency has been for me to lose perspective a bit as the intensity has increased – to lose sight of the fact that this stuff that we’re doing, this knowledge we’re gaining, this fun we’re having – is inherently cool and at the same time very, very serious (see my Serious Business post from Week 1).

There’s a strong tendency to get caught up in the work, in the activity, in the excitement and the anxiety…

After my workout tonight, driving home from the gym, I made a kind of pact with myself to step back a bit from time to time during the next 3 months and breathe it in, soak it in, ‘smell it’ so to speak. A transition, a change, a pretty hefty transmutation is happening in the lives of every one of my classmates right now. I’ll still get caught up in it, but I’m going to try and be present for it, to be present fully during this change, and hopefully learn a bit more in the process.

(And have a bit more fun too…)

West Metro Swat gave a pretty wicked presentation, one of the best we’ve had the last two months. Here’s the county’s armored personnel carrier. Cool, eh?

The APC’s baby brother.

Every one of us was deeply impressed with the SWAT team members who presented the class. I know that many of us (me included) discovered a bit of hero-worship on our faces as the day ended.

The Sergeant sets off a “Flash Bang” explosive device in the Academy parking lot, which blew a few car alarms :)

And stay tuned…for possible video next posting!