Explorer Post 1658 Receives National Recognition

“A lot of talent and a whole lot of skill,” said Sheriff Rex Coffey of the Charles County Sheriff’s Office describing the achievements of 12 Explorers from the Charles County Sheriff’s Office Explorers Post 1658 who recently competed against more than 1,000 Explorers from across the country at the National Law Enforcement Explorers Conference, Law Enforcement Challenge in Ft. Collins, CO. The CCSO Explorers placed in the top 10% in four categories and won medals in two individual events.

The Conference is conducted every other year and is attended by thousands of law enforcement Explorers and adult leaders. They come together for a week of team and individual competitions, seminars, demonstrations, exhibits, recreation and fun. Their skills are tested through competition-based individual and team events.

Posts were divided into teams of four and each team was tested in three randomly selected field scenarios. Post 1658 received certificates for placing in the top 10% in arrest and search – also receiving a perfect score for the event – domestic crisis intervention, bomb threat and burglary in progress. Other events included accident investigation, officer down, emergency first aid, hostage negotiation, judgment pistol shooting, shoot/don’t shoot, non-emergency vehicle operations course, traffic stops and white-collar crimes.

Individual events included air pistol marksmanship, bike policing, police physical performance and the 9mm pistol marksmanship competition. Carly Ford, 17, a senior at North Point High School, won a medal in the pistol marksmanship competition against 800 competitors, and Jania Osborne, 19, a freshman at the College of Southern Maryland, won a medal for placing second in the police physical performance exercise.   

Guided by Cpl. Rhett Calloway, Criminal Justice Instructor at North Point High School and lead advisor of Post 1658, and with assistance from associate Advisors William Donley, Al Davis, Reggie Forbes and Lori Calloway, the Explorers trained for a year to prepare for the conference. They read case law, studied training guides, practiced hands-on exercises and participated in strength and conditioning workouts. “Our Explorers were dedicated to doing their best and ultimately, they represented Charles County well,” said Cpl. Calloway. Last month the Post also received their basic training certification, making them the first Post in NCAC to obtain this achievement. This certification encourages professional standards for training Explorers.

“We learned so much about law enforcement and what it takes to be a police officer,” said Carly Ford. “I’m glad we had this experience, there is no doubt it will help me as I move forward in life.”

Law Enforcement Career Exploring is open to young men and women ages 14 (and completed the 8th grade) and not yet 21-years-old with an interest in learning more about careers in the field of law enforcement. It provides educational training programs for young adults on the purposes, mission, and objectives of law enforcement. The primary goals of the program are to help young adults choose a career path within law enforcement and to challenge them to become responsible citizens of their communities and the nation. For more information, visit the Charles County Sheriff’s Office website at www.ccso.us.

The original press release is available here (pdf).