Sunday, March 15, 2009

I'm Back

Sorry I haven't posted this past week. Our computer has been on the fritz but we've managed to fix it, thanks to one of HF's academy friends. He's a nerd. I call him my foster child because he's always around and he's been around for the past 6 years. I don't think he'll go away anytime soon and now he's going to be a cop just like HF so there's that whole bonding thing, great.

HF had his first official day of scenario practicals. He was introduced to yet another group of instructors all of which could best be described as “super cops.” They were intimidating to say the least. Basically HF and his classmates had to divide up into little squads and rotate through 4 stations, each containing a different scenario they had to deal with. By the end of the day all of the students felt miserable. HF said that everyone’s brains shut down on them and they totally forgot what little law they knew. The instructors said that this was normal for the first day and “encouraged,” everyone to study up on their law. HF felt pretty dejected when he came home but he did have this one realization: The day wasn’t a failure. The instructors told them that even though they screwed up a lot, it was only day 1 of that training and that if they learned something at each station, then the training was a win for them. The instructors want them to make their mistakes in training so they learn from them and don’t make the same mistakes again in the real world.

CJ update:

In the last two weeks CJ has made it clear to the instructors that she doesn’t like it when they use the “F word,” which causes them to use it more and direct it at her, much to everyone else’s amusement. I don't like "the F word," either, but that's what happens in the academy and in the real world, right?

That’s all I got for now.

8 comments:

It's me said...

Sorry to hear about the computer... I know the feeling... computer forensic's wife = without a workng desktop in the house. :) Sigh....

This really has me thinking about the advantages/ disadvantages about being in the academy versus going home. I can only relate via active duty military.

And I feel EVERYONE'S pain as far as CJ. YIKES. :)

Anonymous said...

I don't much like getting sworn at but the thing is - if you want to live a prissy happy little life free of yuck and the f-word, why would you sign up to be a cop? Kind of goes with the territory, both from other cops who seem to have a warped view on life and from the people on the street. I think the instructors are doing the right thing. She needs to be desensitized to the word and if she can't take it, wake up and smell the f-ing reality.

Berserk said...

Scenario days could be pretty frustrating. They're a lot of fun from the other side, though.

Slamdunk said...

Sorry to hear about the computer.

In our domestic scenario, they used a formed professional boxer named Tex Cobb as a combative and disorderly spouse.

Nothing like a 250+ pound muscular professional actor experienced in fighting in front of crowds charging at you (just as the instructors broke the scenario up with hearty laughs). I am sure there was plenty of underwear that needed to be changed that day--though none of my classmates ever confessed.

Momma Val said...

Ha! Sorry, laughing about the F word thing with CJ. She will have quite a rude awakening working at a PD. Ha! Glad your back. I hate when I am puterless. All those drills from the PA were pretty brutal from what I remember. The women did horribly when my husband was in the PA. There were only 2 and they just kept screwing up. I think men are definitely more physically gifted when it comes to those drills for sure.

Anonymous said...

The scenarios and the yelling can be hard to stomach, but I think it gives them such a good test of what's to come when it's for real on the street. It throws in their face the garbage that is likely to come their way.

And....thanks for the add. I enjoy reading yours too :0)

Jason said...

He can't be expected to know it all. Trust me, the first day he hits the streets he will have forgotten just about everything he's learned. All he's got to to do is keep an open mind, always be willing to learn even after 10 years on the job, and to listen to the veterans.

KT said...

My dh and I love reading your CJ stories. We have one of those here too... kills me how similar they are. It's kinda scary.