Academy compared to Basic Training

[AfghanVetOrcutt]

I'm hoping to become a police officer in about two years (need college first even though I was Military Police and already know a good amount about the job) and I was just curious as to how the academy compares to basic training? I would prefer folk who have done both but any insight would help really. Thanks!

[P5Ret]

First mistake speaking as a FTO don't assume that being an MP is anything like civilian police work. I have seen more than one former MP fail FTO, because they thought they knew the job already. The biggest difference you will face is in testing, if you don't pass a test in the service, (and both were a long time ago for me) they don't kick you out. Fail a required test in the academy twice, and your gone. Much like basic eyes and ears open mouth shut. Experience is good to have, but it can also be a killer if you don't have humility about your experience.

[AfghanVetOrcutt]

I don't know everything, I basically have enough experience and training to get myself into trouble . I know that I have PLENTY of room for improvement and I am going to go into this with a completely open mind and not say a word about my previous experience while I'm there, that's for the PD that I want to work for to know. I have a pretty good track record with testing, never failed a single Army test but they are written at a 10th grade level. Also not saying I'm the sharpest tool in the shed but consider myself somewhat intelligent. Thanks for the insight.

Oh, and my drill sergeant asked me who I was at graduation. I think I succeeded in the "eyes open, mouth shut" department.

[TASK, LLC]

I have not gone to Basic Training, but I would guess that there are some similarities, lots of differences.

If you could endure the structured training and stress of Basic and work in the military, you should be fine at the Academy.

What poses challenges for EVERYONE, including former military service candidates at the Academy is grammer, punctuation, ability to solve problems, inter-personnal skills (emotional intelligence), hand-eye coordination, attention to detail, and ability to follow directions.

Also it is often the off-duty conduct which gets a person deselected.

If you are able to tolerate the structure of the military, have basic academic skills, have physical coordination, and can keep your off-duty life inline, you should be fine. The military and police industries have similarities, but there are a lot of differences too. The most obvious advantage you may have is physical fitness and stress tolerance.

Great idea to finish college first. You may find it very difficult to go back to school after you have joined.

Good luck to you.

[AfghanVetOrcutt]

Attention to detail and following directions have been pummeled into my psyche for so long its second nature. I've always done well (not exceptional but B's) in English classes and problem solving is somewhat natural for me (I got my highest score on my ASVAB test in problem solving). Where I think I will have the most problems will be inter-personal skills and reading a persons body language and cues. That seems to be a big one that could end up being a huge indicator as to the persons intentions. I might try and develop that skill on my own in some free time.

Not taking the opportunity to go to school with the Post-911 GI Bill would be stupid so that's definitely going to happen.

Thanks for the input.

[Cpl. Haas]

It's hard to give an accurate boot vs. POST comparison without focusing on a specific department and/or academy. Some are pretty chill... others think they're BUD/S. Academies also change their attitude and intensity over time. When I went through the in-house academy for a large bay area department in '04, it was chill as hell because it was mostly civilian employees and SAR guys getting certified... we knew the instructors, and the instructors knew us, so it was like college... only with shooting, def-tac, EVOC, and OC.

Guy I know just went through the same academy about 1.5 years ago, and it's run like the a happy mixture of Marine Corps basic and Navy SpecWar training now.

Beyond that, and as others have said, it's the academics that sink most candidates... the yelling and the PT won't be anything you didn't already go through if you did your 31B OSUT at Ft. Leonard Wood. You're doing the best thing you can right now by using your GI Bill and going to college... avoid Criminal Justice since you've already got a form of LE experience and major in a subject that will give you a nice fallback option if law enforcement doesn't work out for one reason or another.

[AfghanVetOrcutt]

Business Management is what I'm going for at SJSU. Is it weird that I'm more nervous about going back to school than I was about my 2nd deployment?

[SVT-40]

The academy is easy compared to field training. My advice for any male recruit is start practice report writing. I bounced more males from training because they could not write complete, accurate and neat reports in a timely manner.

You can be the best cop in the world, however if your paper is bad you will fail. When I was a new officer I had a veteran "sage" officer give me some of the best advice I ever received.

He said, "Very very few people actually see you do your job, however everyone including Detectives, Sergeants, Lieutenants, Captains, secretarys and your Chief will. In addition District attorneys, Judges, defense attorneys, court clerks and folks from other agencies will. You elected public officials may see what you write as will the news media."

So be sure what you write is factual, complete, accurate and in a format which is easily understandable by anyone.

[HeavyHitterPinoy415]

While military basic training is physically challenging, the L.E academy is more classroom and books. With your military background, the physical fitness and shooting aspects should be cake. While in the academy, pay attention in class and study hard and you should be fine. Regardless, it isn't rocket science.

Study emotional intelligence and improve your interpersonal skills. Lots of military (and civilian) people are weak in this area. Additionally, it will help you pass field training with flying colors (don't be a know it all).

Also, I know you come with an MP background. But if your report writing skills are weak, I'd suggest taking a class or two.

[HeavyHitterPinoy415]

PS

Law enforcement officers without military background can often (not always) be intimidated by former military. Keep that in mind. Sometimes it's better to keep your military/MP background to yourself. Let your DD214 speak for itself.

[friedokra]

I think most of the similarities are in PT and drill/inspection, from there it differs in classroom and scenario instruction.

In my academy class, the Tactical Staff went after the recruits with military experience. A few washed out, mainly due to classroom and memorization skills. If you come into the academy thinking you already know how something is done, the staff are quick to spot that and try to weed you out.

[Raider510]

I've been through both and passed, so I will share a little of what I know/have perceived:

PT is similar, running, pushups, etc. so no surprises there.

The toughest part is the academics of course. Report writing will be the hardest thing most likely, cause if you can't write you are no good to an agency.

If you attend the academy, you can use your GI Bill while attending and should get around $8k or so, even if you are hired by an agency. The only reason you might not want to use the GI Bill is depending on how much is left in your education time (for example trying to go for your bachelors and only having a couple years left of benefits). It sounds like you still have your full amount, so use it!

Good luck, remember your drill and ceremony, the RTO's love that stuff if you know how to sing cadence.

[fullrearview]

With an exception of a few academies (CHP, Cal Fire, Fish and Game, Etc.) you will get to go home every night. That was the biggest difference for me.

While I'm certain you got mind F-ed in the .mil all the time (I know my platoon did) you wont get as much in the academy. Don't program, they just kick you out. Because of that, you will think they are messing with you the whole time.

Being .mil, you will have some sort of leadership role early on. Take it for what it is. Your going to be dealing with recruits who have never:

Fired a gun
Been in a fight
Been hit in anger
Yelled at
Played any kind of organized sports
The list goes on.

Unfortunately, agencies are looking at recruits who have NO life experience at all, but have a degree in Russian women's literature. They see a degree and no LEO contacts and think it somehow generates less liability. What they should be doing is targeting some of these inter city kids early on and guiding them in the right direction. Some seven year old kids have more street smarts and common sense than most of these recruits.

The biggest thing I would worry about is literally the other recruits. If you have a job offer, are in backgrounds, or are a paid recruit, people will do and say things to make themselves look better. Especially if you stand out.

My academy had pier evals at the half way point and at the end. They had some weight to them in your class ranking as well. People will flat out lie in those things, make **** up, and over exaggerate.

Here's an example.

My wife was pregnant while I was going through. I was allowed to keep my cell phone on vibrate and was allowed to check text messages while in class for about 3 weeks leading up to birth. I literally pulled my phone out of my pocket and glanced at the screen ONCE.

I had about 4-5 evals that were nearly verbatim to this:

Recruit XXXXX is constantly talking on his cell phone during class and causing a disruption making it hard for other recruits to learn. When a small group of recruits asked Recruit XXXXX to put his cell phone away, he laughed and told us to get lost.

The academic portion was simple for me, excluding the Emergency Management stuff. For some reason, recruits have a tough time with it. My best friend is going through right now and he said the same thing I did four years ago... What they taught and what the book said was two different things. I passed but with an 85% out of a required 80%. The rest of the time, I was in the mid 90%.

Otherwise, the academy test are simple. Don't read too much into them. They are not trying to trick you. While 99% of the job is a big world of gray, 99% of the academy was black and white. It either is or it isn't. I was able to pay attention in class and pass all my tests. I never studied the material at home. I used that time for radio codes, DTAC, spelling, any other thing I thought I needed to work on.

When you get take home reports, DO NOT take 14 hours to write them perfectly. Most of the recruits did this. All it did was screw them on the report writing final, as they had a 15 or so page report to write in specified time frame. I never proof read my reports, so I had real feed back which helped me get it right the 1st time, and in a timely manner.

Fly under the radar with the recruits (stay out of the drama, Don't sleep with anyone, and get involved with those who do), but always volunteer for things. Some of the ambushes are ingrained into my memory.

Again, the biggest thing is the other recruits. I think about 7-8 of my class (Out of 35ish) are actually working in the LE field. A few of which are questionable at best. They can and will drag you down if you let them.

Sorry for the long post, hope this helps!

[HeavyHitterPinoy415]

...Don't sleep with anyone...

That's numero uno right there! lol

[yzErnie]

During the era I went through basic training and the academy.....give me basic training any time!!!