Sailors, DoD Police Graduate Pilot Police Academy at Naval Base Coronado

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class AC Rainey

June 29, 2010 - SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Sailors and Department of Defense (DOD) federal law enforcement officers graduated from a joint training course for the first time in the history of Navy Region Southwest at Naval Base Coronado June 25.

The inaugural Commander Navy Installations Command (CNIC) Navy Security Forces Training Course is a pilot program designed to standardize advanced law enforcement training among all law enforcement agencies within the Navy community.

"The goals of this program are to get all of our police officers and our enlisted folks, masters-at-arms, on the same training pace," said E.A. Rhodes, force protection program director for Navy Region Southwest.

The graduation, which took place at Murphy Canyon Chapel in San Diego, was the end of a nine-week journey for the 10 DoD federal police and two Navy masters-at-arms enrolled in the course. Due to the nature of their work environments (military bases inside the United States) cadets were tasked with complex training evolutions involving the study of both federal and state law, search and seizure techniques, weapons training, and many other areas of law enforcement and anti-terrorism/force protection instruction.

"In nine weeks you cover a lot of material," said Officer Daniel Siler, one of seven graduates from Naval Air Station China Lake Police Department. "We have to go over state and federal laws constantly because laws on base are very different than out in town. It was a good course."

"It was a lot more classroom time; a lot more law; way more law than our 'A' school," said Master-at-Arms Seaman Lindsey Bakke, a Sailor assigned to Harbor Patrol at Naval Base San Diego. "We got to go do different practicals, see really a whole different side of enforcement and protection all around."

Graduates received their badges, pinned on by their families and friends, and took the police officer's oath. According to their instructors, they also saved a vast amount of time in that preparation.

"This course gives the officers the credentials they need to hit the ground running. It usually can take an officer anywhere between three to four months after arriving at a precinct in order to get into a school to receive this kind of advanced training," said Paul Gonzalez, the course's lead instructor. Gonzalez added that once in the advanced schooling officers could be in that training for an additional four months. "Nine weeks is a lot faster than nearly a year," said Gonzalez.

Instructors and administrators will review and evaluate the class to prepare for future training sessions within Navy Region Southwest.