Week Nine

The highlight of week nine was absolutely the physical challenge, the Yellow Brick Road (YBR). The YBR is a 6.2 mile or so run which includes about 2 1/2 miles of trails running through the Marine Corp Endurance Course (E Course).  We were divided into our normal sections (I'm in section 4) and driven by bus to the beginning of the E Course.  I had a blast as it was a lot of fun.  Several sections started around 9 am about 10 min apart.  This is done to keep people from having to wait too long in line for the obstacles.  My section was started dead last and it was almost 10 am before we began.  The E course is like a "goat trail" through the woods and was fun to run with section members.  The trail takes you up and down, across creeks and mud holes.  There are several obstacles set up along the way including a 12 foot wall, a couple of windows, and about six rope climbs. The cargo net that Jody Foster climbed in the opening scene of the movie "Silence of the Lambs" is near the end of the E course (parts of the movie were filmed there and on the FBI Academy Campus).  When you complete the E Course section of the run, you get back on Application Trail and run the 3 1/2 miles back to the FBI Academy.  There is one awful hill on the Application Trail that I have heard people refer to as "graduation hill". It is straight up and about 100 yards long. I heard a couple of people joke that we needed a rope to help get up that one too.  It wasn't quit that bad but I did walk most of the way up it to conserve my energy for the remaining 2 1/2 miles to the finish.  When I got to the finish line there were about 150 people standing in the road cheering me (and everyone else) on.  My main goals was to finish strong and not be the last person across the finish line.  I accomplished both goals.  The  coveted "Yellow Brick" is now mine for all times.  Yes, it was really that important to me.

Photo of me on one of the rope climbs, it was a lot steeper then it looks. 

My victory photo at the end!!!! 

There were several other things going on during week nine.  A group of about 30 of us attempted a trip to a Washington Nationals Baseball game.  We fought traffic, only to be informed that the game was officially rained out when we got there.  It rained sideways all the way there so it wasn't unexpected. I also signed up for a trip to see the Marine Corp Helicopter Unit responsible for flying the President around.  They were great, very hospitable. We got to look at the helicopters and even climb inside and look around.  

Classes are winding down now and a couple of mine are actually over.  Week Ten will only have two days of class work, Monday and Tuesday and the rest of the week we will be preparing for graduation which is at 10 am on Friday.  "Yellow Bricks" will be awarded on Wednesday morning (more about that later).  As far as course work goes, I have two tests left and one group presentation.  I still have one Fitness class left. We will do an exit test just like the one we did the first day of class.  We will be timed one last time on our mile run and the normal push-ups ect. I almost hate to see it end, but I am really ready to go home for good.    

Week Eight

I'm still behind on my blog. As of today week nine is over. Week eight was a blur. Most of my papers had already been turned in and I had a couple of presentations that week.  I really enjoyed my Violent Crime class.  Our instructor had sent us an email a couple of weeks before class began asking that we bring a case file from our agency with the intent that each student would present the case to the class.  I brought a homicide case that my agency investigated in 2007.  That is the only class that I took that required a personal presentation.  Most of my classes required some type of group presentation.  I only have one group presentation left.  My group in my Forensic class will be presenting another one of my cases to the class tomorrow. My Forensic class has been another good class.  I would recommend  it to anyone who oversees an Investigative unit.  Basically, we got an in-depth look at what forensic services are available by the FBI. The instructor was awesome, and really knows his stuff.    

Week Eight's physical challenge was a five mile run with a time limit.  The run started at the track, we ran down the street and out of the academy campus onto the Marine Corp base for about a mile then onto Application Trail.  It is a Marine trail / tank road. We ran onto another trail thru the woods and back onto the roadway for the last mile or so and ended up back at the track on the FBI Academy.  The time limit for the run was 80 minutes. You had to pass that to be eligible to run the Yellow Brick Road.  Everyone made it in the time limit.  Some were close but all made it in time.  My time was 63 minutes. Not really that fast but I was very happy with the time.  We have been blessed with comfortable weather during our time here but that day was very hot and absolutely the hottest day we have seen so far.  It was over 90 degrees which doesn't seem bad until you compare it to the 75 degree weather that we had become accustomed to.  I could really tell a difference in how the heat affected me.  

Our Wednesday afternoon enrichment speaker was Trooper Bobby Smith.  Trooper Smith is a retired Louisiana State Trooper who lost his sight when he was shot in the head by a suspect on a traffic stop in 1986.  Trooper Smith told his story and gave a very inspirational talk about overcoming obstacles and losses in life.  He was probably the best enrichment speaker that we had the entire time.

Trooper Bobby Smith

Week Seven

I am behind as usual on my blog! Week seven was a good week. Our classes were going well and there was a lot of last minute projects being finished up. The fitness challenge was called the winged Monkey Assault. 

It was a 30-minute circuit on the track where you ran from station to station and completed various exercises.  

Wednesday night was International night.  The International students set up tables with various items from their home countries.  There were various foods and drinks.  It was a great event and most everyone enjoyed themselves.  It was the beginning to an interesting night in the Boardroom. Several people participated in karaoke which a blast to watch.  

The next day was interesting as well.  It was easy to tell who participated more than others in the events of the night before.  My Leadership teacher taught a class on self relaxation. I enjoyed that and learned a lot. On to week eight. It is true that things start moving faster by week eight.