Note: Well, this is the beginning of Week 8. This means that there are only three weeks remaining at the Academy. So far I have to say that this has been one of the best experiences of my professional life. I have gotten to know a lot of very talented individuals who have freely shared their experiences with me. I have also learned a great deal from the instructors at the Academy and look forward to the remaining time that is left.
Sunday February 25, 2001- I got up this morning and went for a run at 8:00am with Phil (Minnesota) and Barry (Pennsylvania). We did 3.5 miles. As we started the run, it was just misting rain. About a mile into it, it was coming down pretty good. After the run, I rewarded myself for the effort with a Belgium waffle for brunch.
I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening hours working on my paper for Executive Leadership. I finished the rough draft late in the evening and emailed it to my sister Martha to proofread. I have a feeling, it will need a lot of editing Ken got back after a rather scary flight because of the wind and fog at Baltimore International (He made it in one peice Kathy!). At 10:00pm, several of us went down to the Rec Room in the basement of Madison and watched Reservoir Dogs.....we should have skipped the movie and went to bed early.
Monday February 26, 2001- Today was the first day of a really busy week. I started the morning off with Media Relations. Then it was PT. After the classroom portion, we worked our ABS and then had a good run. After Lunch, it was Executive Leadership and Crime Analysis/Futuristics to end the class day. After dinner, I got some input from Martha on my paper and finished it up....Thanks Martha!....BTW, Good luck with the new puppy....just don't let Smokey get too attached to it Tuesday February 27, 2001- I turned in my research paper for Executive Leadership this morning. Our instructor, SSA Dave Corderman has sure made that class interesting. Between him and Jim Vance, my Media Relations instructor, they have convinced me to go back and get my masters degree. The second class of the morning was Legal Issues. After that, my Forensics class went on a field trip to one of the Marine Corps demolition fields on the base to watch an explosives demonstration. It was very interesting. They exploded everything from gasoline containers to TNT. Including, dynamite, C4, ammonium nitrate, DET (detonation) CORD, and a Claymore mine. In one of the demonstrations, they exploded three 3 pound charges of C4 plastic explosives; one laying on top of the ground, one placed in a hole, and one buried to show the differences in the force of the blasts. Here is an interesting Bomb Tech fact, if you were to stretch DET CORD across the country for New York City to Los Angeles, California and set it off, it would take all of 4 seconds to reach the other coast! After Forensics, our Media Class left for Washington, DC on a field trip to CNN Washington Studios. We escorted to the conference room on the top floor and met with a producer (Terry) who has been at CNN since its creation over 20 years ago. He gave us a rundown on the Washington operations. CNN Washington laid off about 30 people including top reporters about 2 months ago when Time/Warner merged with AOL. The majority of the news production is going to be broadcast out of Atlanta now. While were were in the conference room, Bernard Shaw and Judy Woodruff, both anchors on the CNN Nightly News walked by. Bernard Shaw's last day is tomorrow when he retires after over 20 years with CNN. After a question and answer session with Terry, he led us on a tour of the facilities including a walk-by of the control room. We also got to go onto the set of Larry King Live and have our pictures made...pretty cool. Upon leaving CNN, we walked down the street with Jim Vance and had dinner at the Washington Brewing Company. Following Dinner, we walked across the street to Union Station to look around before heading back to the Academy....it was a long day but very interesting.
Wednesday February 28, 2001- Started the day off with Forensics. Next was Legal Issues. At one point during the class while discussing some liberal issue, I handed SSA Mike Brooks, our instructor, a pin that I had bought for a $1 in DC the night before....it was a Clinton/Gore in '96 pin. He explained that although he did vote for Clinton in '92, he went the other way in '96....what can I say, he's a lawyer after dinner, it was pretty much just hanging out for the evening until bedtime.
Thursday March 1, 2001- Today was the 5.2 mile "Challenge Run". It included the hill called the "HUMP"....Chief, you could have warned me about the hill....it was straight up and straight down. Luckily, nobody broke their neck during the run. Next was Crime Analysis/Futuristics. We had a good classroom discussion today on the future of policing. There were a lot of different opinions expressed. Next came another Media Relations Field trip. Today we went to the NEWSEUM in Arlington, VA. It is a museum containing the history of new coverage. It was really interesting. It contained all of the Pulitzer Prize winning photos dating back to inception of the award. Carol Knopes hosted the tour. After the tour, we met with Kevin Johnson who is a Senior News Reporter for USA Today which is headquartered across the street. He wrote the recent headline story on the FBI Agent who was arrested for Espionage. We had an interesting Q and A session.
After getting back to the Academy, Frank (New Jersey), Tom (Alabama), and I went into Stafford and grabbed a pizza. After getting back, we went to the boardroom for a while before it closed. Myself and several of the other 7th Floor residents ended up talking in the hallways until midnight.
Friday March 2, 2001- I started the day today with Legal Issues followed by PT (Water Polo today). Following lunch was Media Relations which was our last lecture in the class. The next time we meet, we will participate in news conference role playing on-camera. The last class of the day was Forensics. We reviewed for the upcoming final then started with the presentation of our group projects. Ours will come on Monday.
A large group of us went out and had dinner at "Fat Tuesdays" tonight. Afterwards, three car loads headed into DC to the US Capital Building in hopes of getting a tour of the building. We were lucky enough to run into a couple of great Capital Police Officers Don and Jim) who helped us out. Jim took on an hour long tour of the Capital. It wasn't his first time to do it and to our good fortune, he was a history buff who knew a great deal of the building's history. It is a very humbling experience to walk the halls of the seat of the Nation's Capital. The most impressive part of course was being able to stand in the center of Rotunda which is the geographic center of Washington, DC. It is the same spot where presidents such as JFK have laid in state. The last two people to lay in state were the two Capital Police Officers killed in the line of duty approx. 2 years ago. After leaving the Capital, most of the guys headed back to Quantico. However, Steve and Phil (Minnesota), Vernon and his friend who flew in for the weekend Mike (Tennessee), I decided not to let such a pretty clear night go to waste. Our first stop was the Jefferson Memorial. Night-time is when you should visit all of the presidential memorials. The lighting adds to the drama and they are literally awe-inspiring. Next, we went to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial. It is the newest presidential memorial in DC and was just dedicated in 1996. Next we stopped at the Korean War Memorial. It is really something at night. You can see the fear, pain, and determination in the soldier's faces. A short distance away, is the Vietnam Memorial. Again, it is a very moving sight. Finally, we went to the Lincoln Memorial. Probably the most inspiring of them all. Lincoln sitting looking out over the Reflecting Pool towards the Washington Monument is breathtaking. . Well, it's 1:30am so I think it's time to head back to Quantico....probably the most interesting night I've spent in the DC area yet. I now have a plan for Martha when she comes up for graduation...a night-time tour of DC.
Saturday March 3, 2001- Slept late today. Got up and proof-read my Futuristics paper one last time and printed it. I organized some of my class notes in preparation for the upcoming finals. Today Mom and Dad flew into Washington Dulles. I picked them up at the airport around 5:00pm and we made our way back to Quantico. They are here for a two weeks vacation in the area prior to attending my graduation and are going to use my Jeep to get around. I took them to the Globe and Laurel Restaurant for dinner and introduced them to Major Spinner. Then they dropped me off at the Academy before taking off for Williamsburg where they are staying the first week. Dad brought about 10 pounds of peanut brittle and gave it to me. I distributed it around the 7th floor. It was a hit. After hitting the "Boardroom" for a little while, several of us decided to drive into Fredricksburg to a place called "The Sharks Club" that we were told about. It was not our crowd but it was some interesting people watching. Bed came late...2:00am.