WEEK 1' IS IN THE BOOKS...

One down...nine to go.

Week one is in the books and while graduation day seems so far away, time is beginning to speed up. Courses are long and assignments are time consuming but all classes are taught by top-notch instructors and foremost experts who keep things interesting.  I have no classes that I dread... every class is good and all the instructors are dynamic.

Finished three writing and research assignments this weekend. I have not written in "APA" style since college so I have been burning up the Internet looking for APA material, guidelines and help.  Thank the Almighty for "bibme.com" and some of the APA style help sites.  Labor law, computer crimes, emotional intelligence and PT are in the works tomorrow.  Looking forward to it all (Well....except maybe for PT :)

Discovered Skype and a PC camera to help with homesickness. $9 at Wal-Mart and I was up and running. Computer cameras are great things !!!!!

While I spent Saturday doing homework, Sunday doing laundry and organizing, I spent Monday driving around and along with several other FBI students, toured the 'National Museum of the Marine Corps.'  I came away impressed with a great museum.  Huge place as most of the displays are life sized. Took lots of photos..

Exterior shot of the USMC Museum....

Life sized displays everywhere...

Photo below is the ACTUAL flag that was raised at Iwo Jima in the famous photo. This is the flag from the 'second" raising that was used in the photo that is familiar to everyone....

Me,  standing by a beam that was salvaged from the World Trade Center on Sept 11, 2001...

NA Students viewing the exhibits........

NA Student Les Buckley from the South Australia Police says you better behave !!!!  :)



Looking forward to week two and moving toward graduation... I will follow with a post on Thursday... so long to all.

Week 1- Long Days

The NA staff told us the first few weeks would go slow and all of us finally believe them.  The Days are long and sometimes difficult to manage but everyone pitches in to help their neighbor and we get through the day.

I have had the pleasure of meeting many professional law enforcement executives from around the world, each with their own set of problems and their own personalities. However, the most rewarding experience thus far has been meeting so many people from so many different cultures and backgrounds.

I began keeping notes on all the great people I have met. A sampling of students at the academy includes many war veterans, a police chief from one of the largest agencies in the world, a former competitor on "fear factor", a student whose wife was recently wounded in the line of duty, a student who up in a carnival, international students who "paid their own way" to the academy, a student who is a top government official in their home country, and others who are among the best law enforcement leaders in the world.

Among these professionals is a student known as "Hawkeye".  I will let you figure out where the name comes from on your own..

The weekend is just around the corner as we wrap up the first week at NA248. Several of the students that live nearby are traveling home. Many of us will stay behind and work on research papers, laundry and workouts.  A trip to the U.S. Marines Museum down the road from the academy may be in the mix for Sunday. 

The signup for a "field trip" to NYC was held after dinner tonight. The line stretch around the "crossroads diner".  Having been to NYC myself on several occasions I skipped the opportunity so that someone else, who has never seen NYC, could have the opportunity to go. I may hold out for the Philadelphia trip in February.  Right now I am looking forward to working through the courses, and getting a visit from my bride in February.



A few students relaxing after hours at "The Grove" or "out back" as we say in Oklahoma.....

Photo from the entrance...

Those of you that are attending the academy, or have gone through other academies you will understand the meaning of this photo...

Enough for now... time for..bed and reading....  so long until after the weekend.

Monday 1/9/12

0600 came early on the east coast especially for those of us from the middle of the country.  I really feel sorry for some of the guys from the left coast. (Cali and Hawaii).  Their body clocks feel like they are getting work up at 2am. 

Orientation day went very smooth. It is obvious the FBI training staff is well versed in the "processing" portions of training administration. Every base was covered and every contingency was discussed at some point today.  Lots of paperwork, emergency contact cards, questionnaires, etc etc. paperwork was in addition to briefings by the FBI Security Police, National academy associates group, FBI Training Unit Chief and others.  Everyone wanted a piece of us today.

We received a fairly significant lecture concerning the areas we are allowed to photograph and the areas we are not allowed to photograph.  I deny any knowledge of photos from classified areas of the Marine Base (See me after the academy...)  Nor will I post them (until after graduation, that is.... only if I had possession of them which I do not)

The highlight of the day came at nearly 3pm when a fairly heavy snow begin to fall. (see view below from my room) Most of us simply groaned, but the fun came when all of the students from places such as Hawaii, California, Hong Kong, middle east, South America and other warm climate locations all pressed their noses to the glass to watch the snow fall.   I counted at least 20 people that were rushing outside with their camera to witness their first snowstorm.

Our "section" of the academy came together this morning. Approximately 48 people in our section representing 32 states, and 5 foreign countries.  International students include police command officials from Belgium, Cypress, Australia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Texas ( :) )

Class tomorrow begins in ernst...  0800 Executive Leadership, 10:30 Emotional Intelligence analysis, 1330 Computer crimes, 1530 Legal Block, followed by some light and refreshing exercise.


For now... its time for bed.... 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Check in Day Photos

Weather in Quantico VA was unseasonably warm, about 60 degrees when I arrived. All the counselors were laughing at us and made sure we knew the weather "would not last" in any case.  A few photos after check-in....

First Post- Check In Day !!!!

Well,....  22 hours of driving,  about 10 cups of really bad coffee,  wafflehouse, McDonalds, and "The Country Inn" in Knoxville and Woodbridge VA, and I am finally here... Marine Base Quantico (VA) for the 248th session of the FBI National Academy.

I will be posting on a regular basis (I hope) and will keep it updated at least a couple of times a week with photos, comments, anecdotes and anything else I can do.

A couple of notes from check-in day--

*Getting an AT&T signal here is like Rocky Balboa chasing that chicken in "Rocky I".  You gotta stand on one foot, lean into the wind, hold a metal coat hanger in your teeth and hop in order to get a signal.... 1st stop tomorrow will be off-base at the local Verizon store for a doper phone. (Known outside the law enforcement community as a pre-pay phone)..  Seems Verizon is truly the only carrier here.  I had hoped my new souped up Android Skyrocket with 4G would work, but apparently Verizon could give a crap less....  Anyway-  Prepay doper phone on the agenda tomorrow.

*Check-in was seemless except for the poor little guy that came in the door directly from the airport after a 20+ hour flight from Vietnam,  no english, and first trip to the U.S.  A couple of us helped get him situated but things were pretty comical for a while.  Luckily everyone here is very professional and willing to help each other and we got Tuan (I think thats his name) checked in, fed, and taken to his room.

*I all ready miss my Rachel (and yes, the pups to).  I will be relieved when I get to see her again in a few weeks. Meanwhile..... Verizon phone and lots of calls.

*Dinner was not bad.... not good....but not bad....Fish, Veggies, grapes and an orange.  Gatorade and water to drink..  followed by.... yes another really bad cup of coffee.

I will try and post photos on Monday if I can get the wireless here to cooperate with my department computer...

Until then.... :)