Well, folks, I've been gone for ten days and I'm just gettin' back into the swing of things.
In the previous ten days, I was at an RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) youth academy that focusses on preparation for Depot, the six month training course held in Regina, Saskatchewan, for all people going into the RCMP.
Days started at 05:00 and ended at around 22:00 on a good day. We began each day with either weights or running for an hour, amid pushups, situps, hill climbs, belly crawls, and jumping jacks. From there came breakfast and then a day filled with seminars and lectures about everything from note taking to search and rescue to law issues to ERT (Emergency Response Team: Canadian SWAT) demonstrations. At 18:30, after dinner and whatnot, came drill, where we learned simple marching and a few easy to pick up moves that looked impressive when graduation came around.
We also learned self defense, which took its toll, as two of the 48 cadets left early due to injuries sustained during ground fighting. One was a torn ACL, and I can't remember what the other cadet left for. Other people had minor concussions and things like that... Neck braces and what have you. Our self defense instructor, Cst. Hiscoe, is a 6th degree black belt in Jujitsu (sp) and when he demonstrated things, he had a lot of fun with the cadets, putting them in all kinds of submission holds and whatnot.
Discipline was interesting. Many a pushup was dealt and done through the course of ten days for anything from making bets with constables to leaving notebooks in the classroom. Essays were written, and running was demanded. Hundreds of jumping jacks were done as some cadets were told to rush back to their dorms to shave while the rest of the troop "waited" in a jumping jack exercise. Attitude adjustment, which consisted of lugging a telephone pole around the field, through tight quarters, under and over picnic tables, and doing situps with the pole, was very entertaining and helped the entire troop learn the principle of teamwork.
Graduation made it all worthwhile. Blood, sweat, and stomach juices were all expelled in plenty as we progressed through the days, but once graduation came and we saw how much we improved, we could not help but be proud of out accomplishment and stand tall in our blue pants with the yellow stripe down the side. I have a newfound respect for any RCMP officer I see now, for I have caught but a glimpse of what they go through in the 6 months of Depot they see before going into active duty.
I was stressed out and khukless through it all. When I got home, I drew a few of my khuks and slashed some air just to get a smile back on my face.
I would recommend this academy to anybody in my area who is looking for both a physical and mental challenge. It was a wonderful experience that will change the way I view any situation. I feel fan-freakin'-tastic now that I have proven to myself that I can handle this, and who knows what the future has in store.
Sorry aboot the length.
Travis
In the previous ten days, I was at an RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) youth academy that focusses on preparation for Depot, the six month training course held in Regina, Saskatchewan, for all people going into the RCMP.
Days started at 05:00 and ended at around 22:00 on a good day. We began each day with either weights or running for an hour, amid pushups, situps, hill climbs, belly crawls, and jumping jacks. From there came breakfast and then a day filled with seminars and lectures about everything from note taking to search and rescue to law issues to ERT (Emergency Response Team: Canadian SWAT) demonstrations. At 18:30, after dinner and whatnot, came drill, where we learned simple marching and a few easy to pick up moves that looked impressive when graduation came around.
We also learned self defense, which took its toll, as two of the 48 cadets left early due to injuries sustained during ground fighting. One was a torn ACL, and I can't remember what the other cadet left for. Other people had minor concussions and things like that... Neck braces and what have you. Our self defense instructor, Cst. Hiscoe, is a 6th degree black belt in Jujitsu (sp) and when he demonstrated things, he had a lot of fun with the cadets, putting them in all kinds of submission holds and whatnot.
Discipline was interesting. Many a pushup was dealt and done through the course of ten days for anything from making bets with constables to leaving notebooks in the classroom. Essays were written, and running was demanded. Hundreds of jumping jacks were done as some cadets were told to rush back to their dorms to shave while the rest of the troop "waited" in a jumping jack exercise. Attitude adjustment, which consisted of lugging a telephone pole around the field, through tight quarters, under and over picnic tables, and doing situps with the pole, was very entertaining and helped the entire troop learn the principle of teamwork.
Graduation made it all worthwhile. Blood, sweat, and stomach juices were all expelled in plenty as we progressed through the days, but once graduation came and we saw how much we improved, we could not help but be proud of out accomplishment and stand tall in our blue pants with the yellow stripe down the side. I have a newfound respect for any RCMP officer I see now, for I have caught but a glimpse of what they go through in the 6 months of Depot they see before going into active duty.
I was stressed out and khukless through it all. When I got home, I drew a few of my khuks and slashed some air just to get a smile back on my face.
I would recommend this academy to anybody in my area who is looking for both a physical and mental challenge. It was a wonderful experience that will change the way I view any situation. I feel fan-freakin'-tastic now that I have proven to myself that I can handle this, and who knows what the future has in store.
Sorry aboot the length.
Travis
