Blog - Recruit - June 2007

Everyone has seen movies where the drill sergeant storms into the barracks and tells the recruits how it's going to be. Some of us lived this. For me, it was at Ft. Dix, N.J. Well, what do you need to do to get through the police academy and the FTO period? Simple; what I was told and what I tell every recruit: Get your life in order!

One of the most daunting tasks a recruit must undertake is learning and mastering the various languages that are spoken in policeland. How many languages does a cop speak? Quite a few; definitely more than two, to my mind.

Before every academy class I taught, recruits asked me how they could get better grades. Make time and study with your flash cards.

In your quest to become a cop or deputy, you will likely face an agility or physical fitness test. This is no worry, right?

Wrong.

You have waited for the announcement that your local agency is hiring officers. Then you see it in the newspaper. You cannot wait to make that application to become a cop! So you want to run down immediately to apply. Your enthusiasm is appreciated, but don't let it end your career before it starts. Stop, read the announcement carefully, and comply with what it directs you to do.