SACRAMENTO — They weren”t kidding when they said “boot camp.”
I was one of 39 journalists attending a California Highway Patrol media boot camp last week at the academy in Sacramento. The idea behind the day was to give print, broadcast and radio journalists a taste of the training it takes to be a CHP officer.
About the time they barked at us to “line up, line up!” I realized they were serious. So there we were, a bunch rag-tag journalists milling around an outdoor courtyard trying to figure out what the drill instructors wanted us to do. I ducked behind a guy who was standing at what looked to be attention facing drill Sgt. Julian Irigoyen. That seemed like a safe place to be.
And as I stood there holding my bag full of workout clothes I was told to bring for a “light workout,” I wasn”t sure if I was shaking because of the 7 a.m. chill or from intimidation.
Three or four drill instructors walked around yelling orders to “line up with the person beside/in front of you,” “keep your eyes forward,” “stand up straight” and “curl your fingers like you”re holding a roll of quarters with your thumbs pointing down.” Drill Sgt. Irigoyen simultaneously expected us to shout responses to his commands.
It wasn”t long before we were whipped into a tight formation and shouting, “yes, sir!” in response. I was relieved that I wasn”t among the unlucky handful mocked by instructors as we were marched into the gym. I wondered if my experience signing up for the day was similar to that of the average CHP hopeful signing up for the academy.
There was nothing light about the workout that came next. We did who knows how many alternating sets of rapid-fire push-ups and sit-ups as an instructor called out a brisk count. I had no trouble for about the first two sets, but I reached a point where my muscles just couldn”t make it happen anymore. So I let my overwhelmed abs get away with crunches some of the time instead of full sit-ups.
“Eight!” I chanted as I managed a third sit-up during one set. We were expected to count along with the instructor, shouting, of course. If we didn”t, we started the set over as a group. At some point I realized an instructor was standing right over me. “OK, I”d better make this one good,” I thought as I grunted, puffed and finally willed myself all the way up.
“Way to dig deep, Tiffany!” the instructor barked. That was more motivation than all of the instructors” yelling put together.
But that grueling workout was just the warm-up for the mile run that followed. We shouted back a cadence as we jogged at a brisk pace around the sprawling grounds.
I had to opt for the museum tour with half of the group so my muscles could stop shaking before I tried the weapon simulation.
Two reporters at a time would face a screen that played a scenario an officer might experience in the field.
We were shown how to wield the power of life and death ? namely, a Smith & Wesson handgun that was refitted with a laser beam instead of loaded with bullets. When I pulled the trigger I heard a gunshot and affected the simulated action.
The exhilarating part was shouting commands at the virtual subject in the ever-changing scenario, which we were told was part of how a cadet was graded.
“Put the pitchfork down!” I found myself shouting more than once.
In one scenario I narrowly saved my life when one man swung a tire iron. In another, I stilled my itchy trigger finger when a man holding a gun on a cashier turned toward me and then ran. He could have been turning to shoot me. Knowing when to pull the trigger wasn”t easy. Did the subject have the means to hurt me or someone else?
A rock can be a deadly weapon if applied correctly. Did he have the intent? Saying, “I”m gonna mess you up” counts, I learned. Did I fear for my life or someone else”s? Those three things had to be in place.
The fast-paced action didn”t always leave time to think clearly. But I found out that I”m a decent shot.
I was disappointed that I didn”t get to sit behind the wheel of a car and learn how to drive in slick conditions, as I was told I would. But the instructors enjoyed doing 360s in the black-and-whites while we snapped pictures for our respective publications.
In some of the pictures I took, it looked as if the car was on fire because of all the smoke from the screeching tires.
The day ended with an interview of CHP cadet William Adams, who spend some of his childhood in Lakeport.
“They demand a lot of you physically, they demand a lot of you emotionally and mentally,” Adams said.
In his 17th week at the academy, he offered future cadets this advice: “Come prepared.”
Commissioner Mike Brown told the media corps that out of every 1,000 applications, only 15 to 20 young men and women make it into the academy. About 80 percent of those who enter become officers.
Editor”s note: Record-Bee staff writer Tiffany Revelle attended a California Highway Patrol media boot camp held Oct. 10 at the CHP academy in Sacramento. The intent of the event was to educate the media about the training CHP cadets undergo to become officers. This is her first-hand account.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com. To comment on this story or other stories please visit www.record-bee.com.
