Author: CongaltonFBINA275

We have made it to hump day of week 9. Today was mostly final presentations in my classes.

After lunch I had to present my last presentation on mindfulness. Yoga, Meditation and Mindfulness are becoming popular in police departments across the country. I presented on a few simple mindful exercises that can be done in a law enforcement setting. The benefits can be reduced stress, lower heart rate, better breathing and better focus. All of these are useful to law enforcement. Mindfulness is about living in the moment.

Some of the other presentations were on essential oils, qigong, crystals, Kung fu, and yoga. All of these are alternative forms of wellness. They may not work for everyone but we now have an understanding of options that are out there.

Tonight we are heading to Paddy’s for dinner. Paddy is a retired marine that owns a restaurant in town. He is hosting a dinner for FBINA Class 275. He has bagpipers coming as entertainment tonight.

Woke up to a clear crisp 24 degree day. I started off with a vigorous 60 minute workout and the rest of the day was class room presentations.

At the end of the day we were invited to attend an AA meeting at one of the local churches. This was a suggestion by one of our instructors. She encouraged us to attend as a visitor so we would have a better understanding of what Alcoholics Anonymous is and how the meetings are structured. I must admit that I was a little anxious because I didn’t know what to expect. To my surprise, it was a great experience to see how the program has helped and continues to help so many people. I would be comfortable attending a meeting with someone that needed help or support. The experience gives you confidence and credibility with your friends, family or coworkers. I’m glad I went and shared the experience with a few of my classmates.

I woke up earlier than usual this morning. I had two presentations to do so my mind was wondering to both of those. The first presentation was on a controversial police shooting in Albuquerque, NM and the next one was a case study on Costco and how they implement emotional intelligence. Bill, Mike and I tackled the Costco presentation together.

During the afternoon session we listened to a debrief of the Route 91 mass shooting. I have heard this one before but it’s close to home so it just reminds you of how tragic the event really was and the impact it had on so many, including the law enforcement community.

After dinner we went to the Globe and Laurel for a social gathering. We try and go every couple of weeks. The location is owned by a retired marine. He is very police and military friendly. He is 94 and he served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He is there every night and is a gracious host. Couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take a photo with him.

I was up until 0200 this morning. I went through and scanned all of the paper, documents and booklets that I received over the last couple months. It was nice to get rid of all the paper.

I had a great night of sleep. I woke up refreshed and ready to go today. It is cloudy and rainy again but me, Martin, Bill and Bill are heading to DC to tour the Newseum. Apparently this museum is closing down soon. I have heard that this museum is amazing and full of interesting items.

Berlin Wall.

The Unabomber’s cabin.

I have two presentations tomorrow so I will be preparing for those tonight. Once those are done, I’ll have one left on Wednesday.

Woke up this morning to our beach front view in Virginia Beach. It is cloudy and rainy but it is suppose to clear up today and rain again tomorrow.

We made it to the naval base to see the USS Truman. Had a great tour and had a chance to see most of the ship. Some spots were off limits of course. The video below highlights some of the ship.

I felt a couple of the photos were worth mentioning and stood out to me. On the USS Truman, they had the presidential seal in the floor. An interesting fact about this seal, was President Truman changed this seal when he was president. He changed the eagle from looking at the arrows to looking at the branches, which symbolize peace.

The other interesting item in the tribute room was the handwritten note from President Truman authorizing the use of the atom bomb on Hiroshima.

The next stop was a tour of the Wisconsin battleship. Was used in World War II. It was commissioned in 1944 and decommissioned in 1991. In 1988 it was refurbished to accommodate the tomahawk missiles. Had another great tour by a retired navy officer.

This morning we had a delayed start due to weather. We did not start until 0930. This was a good thing for many because after international night, many were slow to get up.

Finished up ours day of classes and needed a workout to get the blood flowing. Martin and I went to the gym and had a good 75 minute workout. We hit the cafeteria for dinner and now we are heading to Virginia Beach. It’s about a 3 hour drive and it’s pouring rain.

Tomorrow we are going to tour a battle destroyer and aircraft carrier. About a quarter of the class is going early in the morning but we figured it would be nicer to get a hotel in Virginia Beach and get a good nights rest before the tour. We are driving back tomorrow night.

Woke up to a clear cold and windy morning. Apparently a storm is coming in tonight and will be here through the weekend.

We had PT today for second period. Courtney had us in class for a bit discussing breathing. Breathing is important to the body and can help with relaxation.

The second half was a killer workout. The 10×10.

Each of these exercises for 30 seconds with a 10 second break between each. Seems simple right?

It was until she said we had to do 1 then 2&1, then 3&2&1, then 4&3&2&1, 5&4&3&2&1, and so on until we got to 10&9&8………..&1. 40 minutes later we finished. That will wake you up in the morning.

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After lunch is the round robin training. This gives us a chance to receive some training on subjects that we weren’t able to take classes on. We had a chance to prioritize 10 classes from 1 to 10. These are the three that I ended up with.

Owning your media interview was by far the best of the three. I was able to gain some useful information from that class and acquire some good handouts that will be useful to others at my department as well.

Tonight was international night. What a great experience. 25 countries and their embassies came and fed everyone with their native food and drink. They were all dressed in their uniforms and looked sharp.

One of the highlight spectacles was all of my classmates that wanted to try balut. For those of you that don’t know what that is, I have provided a photo below. There was a competition to see who could eat the most. This is one competition that I did not participate in.

After international night we went to the boardroom and met up with the gang. I ran into my boy Eddie from North Carolina. He is known around here as George W or 43. Bill and I had to memorialize the moment.

Wednesday is challenge day. Today we had to run the mile for official time. The goal was to run the mile faster than week 2. It was awesome to see the whole class out on the track cheering for each other. We were broken down into 5 groups based on time. Most people were able to better their time over the last 6 weeks. The workouts have been paying off.

I was able to improve my time by about 30 seconds. I came in at 7:23 for a mile.

This afternoon we are listening to a lecture from Gordon Graham about Risk Management. He is well known in the risk management arena. For any of you that have seen him speak, the below photo will make complete sense.

The State of Texas is hosting teas night tonight. Nothin like Texas bbq. There are 20 officers representing the State of Texas in my class. This is a tradition every class. Thank you Texas!!

Started off this morning with physical training. The first half was classroom and last half was in the gym. She took it easy on us today since we are running our official mile for time tomorrow. The classroom covered cardiovascular health and ways to prevent heart disease. Statistically, officers die 15 years sooner then those outside the profession. Diet and exercise are important even though genetics come into play.

Second period I had a presentation. I chose to do my presentation on leading in crisis and talked about the Shaun Diamond murder. I spoke for about 30 minutes and discussed lessons learned related to resiliency, seeking help and my personal experiences and making sure our people are well. One down and three to go.

After dinner we went down and helped put some bricks together. Some needed help painting and the decals put on. They had to call in the perfectionists. Steve, Shannon, Dave, Martin and Dave.

I think they came out sharp.

Had a pretty average Monday. Class all day and nothing too out of the ordinary. My last class of the day was shortened and I spent the better part of an hour talking to my instructor Don Bostic after everyone left. He is an FBI agent assigned to the National Academy. We had a great conversation about the job and life in general. He was very insightful and I appreciate the meaningful conversation.