Halloween has long been considered the “kick off holiday” of the silly season. Thankfully, as you read this, Halloween is behind us and hopefully nothing terrible happened to you or in your jurisdiction. Now though… you really get to enjoy the accelerating holiday craziness. As we move to Thanksgiving, I would encourage you to take the time off (if your work schedule permits) and enjoy your family and friends as much as you can. Enjoy the down time. Recharge those emotional batteries. The same applies to Christmas (and all the other religious holidays that fall in this time frame). Everyone reading this needs to survive, without injury or other harm, through the New Year to enact some resolutions!
By the time you read this, Officer.com will have launched our new Virtual Academy. The Officer Virtual Academy, or OVA for short, is 100% free and online. While the courses are not (yet) approved for continuing education or in-service credits (we’re working on that), they are full of good information and structured such that you can view them in parts as your schedule permits. The largest bulk of the courses launched first have to do with conflict management and survival. There are several courses discussing and displaying defensive tactics for a variety of situations and one that reviews the 10 (really 12) Deadly Errors. Each course has a downloadable handout of the materials covered, a syllabus and an introduction. If you invest the time to view the courses, a downloadable Certificate of Completion will be available for each course.
This issue includes our usual topics of Command/HQ, Investigations, Tactical, On the Street, Vehicles & Fleet, Training & Careers and Honoring the Fallen. We also have a special section in this issue with extra Vehicles & Fleet articles. Our SWAT spotlight this issue is about the Spotsylvania County, Virginia SWAT team. They are but one part of a relatively new Special Operations Division command within the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office. Be sure to check them out. For a 100% decentralized team, their duties cover a lot of ground!
At the end of this issue, our recreational column is a review of the Meopta ZD 1-4x22 RD rifle scope, mounted on the Henry Rifles All-Weather Lever Action .30-30. It is a good combination with the hunting season upon us. It’s a combination that won’t disappoint you.
So, read on. Visit the Officer Virtual Academy (virtualacademy.officer.com). Your feedback on the courses and presentation platform are appreciated.
Stay safe!
