Wide range of training prepares recruits to meet threats, challenges
Week 17: Nov. 5-11, 2017
It’s one of the most nightmarish scenarios imaginable for any motorist. A vehicle slides off the road or falls through the ice, trapping occupants under water.
It’s not an everyday occurrence in Michigan but it does happen. Nationally, 400 to 600 deaths each year are attributed  to incidents involving vehicles that fall into water. That’s why Week 17 of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Recruit School prepared trainees for this possibility, as this brief video shows.
The rigorous Submerged Vehicle Escape and Rescue Training was the capstone of the academy’s water survival program. Since their arrival in July, recruits have logged numerous hours in the pool, or “tank” as it is called. They spend time in the tank almost daily, building physical stamina, learning to stay alive in marine environments and practicing techniques that someday may save the lives of others. But the submerged vehicle rescue training challenged recruits to draw on their physical conditioning and all the skills they have amassed.
As always, the week’s training covered many bases. It was varied and extensive, putting recruits in practice situations that included domestic violence responses, tactical shooting scenarios and underwater rescues.
Domestic disputes
Week 17 got under way Monday with final firearms qualifications and tactical shooting exercises. Recruits also devoted several hours of classroom time learning firearms policies and job-related firearms protocols.
Tuesday’s training focused on domestic violence responses, which are among the most physically dangerous and emotionally taxing calls a law enforcement officer will make. Lansing Police Department Capt. Cherie Ballor led recruits through various domestic situation scenarios. In some scenarios, recruits had to deal with verbal confrontations between the involved parties. In other scenarios, they responded to situations that started out as verbal disputes but escalated into simulated violence.
“Domestic violence calls are some of the most dangerous calls a police officer faces,” Ballor said. “Most of the time the  officer is in an unknown environment and dealing with multiple combatants. Add in drug and alcohol use and it can be a highly volatile situation.”
Confronting danger
The class worked Wednesday morning on tactical operations with the Michigan State Police Emergency Support Team. Recruits learned small-squad tactics, procedures for searching and clearing rooms, and handling active shooter situations.
“Conservation officers have the equipment and training to deal with a variety of situations,” said Sgt. Jason Wicklund, Recruit School commander. “They never know when they might be called to respond to an active shooting situation, and they need to know what to do when they get there. This training session gives these future conservation officers invaluable experience.”
In the afternoon, Conservation Officer Troy Van Gelderen instructed the class on the proper ways to deal with juvenile offenders. Juveniles are a significant stakeholder group in terms of enjoying Michigan’s natural resources, and most young people are law-abiding and respectful. But conservation officers do come across those who damage a resource or break other laws, and they are treated differently than adults when it comes to the judicial process. Recruits learned how to handle juvenile offenders based on real examples of juvenile cases.
Fitting in
If recruits needed any motivation to keep charging forward with their training, it came Wednesday night as they visited Lansing Uniform. Class members had the thrill of getting fitted for their conservation officer uniforms and were issued their duty coats. It was a special moment for recruits as they finally got to put on the green and gray uniform for the first time.
They didn’t have much time to dream, though. Before long they again donned their recruit uniforms and steeled themselves to finish the rest of the week’s challenges.
Submerged vehicle training
Thursday was all about Submerged Vehicle Escape and Rescue Training. Recruits learned vehicle dynamics as it applies  to water, and how to safely extract victims in daylight and nighttime environments.
The training was extensive and hands-on for recruits. Wearing blackened goggles to simulate zero visibility in a murky body of water, recruits had to dive in the tank, use their sense of touch to find the vehicle simulator resting on the bottom, remove a role-playing instructor who was seat-belted in, and bring him to the surface.
Training topics included swimming in full uniform, various methods of rescue in a water emergency, characteristics of submerged vehicles, submerged vehicle escape methods, cold-water immersion survival factors, entering the water, surface dives and swim strokes, locating a submerged vehicle, victim removal, and vehicle window punch tools.
Rest and recovery
Recruits enjoyed a short work week thanks to the Veterans Day holiday Friday. The extra day off gave them a chance to rest their bodies and minds before plunging into Week 18. Instructors will expect them to be refreshed and energized upon their return. They'd better be, because there are still six weeks to go.
Subscribe to the weekly conservation officer academy blog, which also will be posted on the Michigan DNR Facebook page. View previous blogs from Recruit School #8.
/Note to editors: Accompanying photos are available below for download. Caption information follows.
Underwater_rescue: A conservation officer recruit practices rescuing a victim trapped in a submerged vehicle during recent training. Conservation officers must know how to save themselves and rescue others if a vehicle goes off the road or falls through ice and becomes submerged in water.
Getting_the_facts: Conservation officers and other law enforcement officers routinely respond to domestic violence situations. Pictured, a conservation officer recruit takes part in a training scenario by interviewing a role-playing instructor about a domestic situation to which she has responded.
Responding_to_the_scene: Conservation officer recruits get information from an instructor pretending to be one of the parties involved in a domestic dispute during a training session. Officers also learn to keep themselves safe when responding to domestic situations because they are among the most dangerous calls faced by police officers.
Looking_for_threats: DNR conservation officer recruits hone their skills in dealing with threats such as active shooters while carrying nonfiring training rifles for safety. Trainees learned small-squad tactics, procedures for searching and clearing rooms, and handling active shooter situations during Week 17 of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Recruit School.
Swimming_to_safety: A recruit practices her technique for rescuing a motorist from a submerged vehicle during a recent training exercise. Nationally, as many as 600 deaths a year are attributed to vehicles falling into water and trapping their occupants. Michigan conservation officers always must be ready to attempt rescues on land or in the water./
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.
|
