Category: Week 7

Woke up this morning to a cloudy rainy day. Missed breakfast because they were on the weekday schedule, 6am to 8am. The agents had to make up classes from our snow day. I wasn’t going to get up that early.

We are going to the White House today for a tour at 11am. I am looking forward to this tour. Luckily we got into the security tent before it started to rain. Security was a long process but it was worth the wait.

Went to Arlington National cemetery after lunch. We walked around in the cold and rain but still great nonetheless.

On the way out of town we swing by the Air Force Memorial. Small little memorial with a great view. The memorial overlooks the Washington monument and the pentagon.

Well today is Friday. Can’t believe another week has gone by. I am definitely enjoying my time here.

I had a full day of classes today. Physical training class was good. Courtney ran us through some advanced nutrition to consider for the first part and the last half was weaponless defense.

After lunch we had a great debrief of a traumatic incident that occurred in 2011. A Virginia state trooper shot an off duty officer who killed his wife. A pursuit ensued of the off duty officer in his take home police car. During the pursuit, the suspect shot a Virginia state trooper and got into another shootout with two other Virginia state troopers. We were fortunate to have one of the troopers that was in the pursuit and shot the suspect. Very much a critical incident with unique circumstances. Hearing her perspective about the incident and the aftermath was insightful.

We got off the base tonight and went to Alexandria for dinner. Had a great dinner at the Chart House then walked around for a bit.

The snow stopped during the night and we woke up to a mix of clouds and sun. We had physical training again and Courtney didn’t cut us any slack. Another day of pushing sand bags, weighted step ups, band work, burpees and cardio.

This was my walk back to my dorm. I didn’t want to change out of my pt clothes so I had to walk outside. We cannot walk inside with our pt clothes on during business hours.

For my last class of the day, my wellness class, we had a yoga instructor come in and give us an intro class. Seemed kind of corny at first but I actually enjoyed it. Much more difficult than I thought it would be but I did okay. She worked us for about an hour. The downward dog, reverse plank, planks, and the warrior stance. Yoga is being introduced to police departments as part of wellness. It is picking up momentum across the USA. it is good for mind and body.

After dinner, me and the crew went to the Lincoln room to do more work. We are working and listening to 80’s music thanks to Bill. He is reliving his college years as a bouncer at Crazy J’s.

I have a 10 page paper, a worksheet and three PowerPoint presentations to finish up and present next week. Once these are done I will have all of my course work completed and turned in. Then I will be able to relax a little. I needed a little snack to keep me going. My fitness instructor probably wouldn’t approve.

Code red today so the base is closed. We got some snow overnight. We still have our physical training challenge today but after that it’s library time.

The challenge today was the Winged Monkey Assault

Not a bad little work out for a snow day.

The other day Courtney gave us a class on Sleep Hygiene and the importance of sleep. I downloaded an app to track my sleep and the results are pretty amazing.

I think the lack of sleep on Tuesday made my sleep on Wednesday that much better. Technology is amazing.

Some of us were getting cabin fever so we went outside to the pavilion for some fresh air. It’s been great to meet so many great guys from all over the USA. West coast to east coast and everywhere in between.

I had physical training first thing today. It was tough getting up after a late night. Bill had a late flight and no ride back to the academy so Dave, Martin and I drove to get him. We got back around 0145 hours.

During second period we had a guest speaker. We had an FBI agent that spoke about the value of Meditation, Yoga, and Tai Chi. There is evidence that all of these are good for mind and body balance and law enforcement and military are starting to incorporate these disciplines into training. These disciplines can reduce stress, lower blood pressure and aid in reducing aches and pains.

We are anticipating a storm that is suppose to come in late tonight and bring snow. It would be nice to see some more snow before the academy is over. I’m sure that sentiment is not shared by everyone.

Presidents holiday today. I think I will use this day to finalize some of my assignments. I have two papers and a few presentations due this week. I have a good start on them so it shouldn’t be too bad.

Just finished my big paper that is due tomorrow. It was suppose to be 8 pages and the final was 14, because more is better. Right??

I’m ready to hit the gym for a little bit and get the blood flowing. Only have 10,000 meters left for the rowing challenge.