At the ripe age of 14, I joined a Police Explorer Post. Four short years later, I was the Captain of that Post, enjoying the experience, having a much higher level of self confidence, discipline, and sense of responsibility. Of course I also enjoyed being looked up to by my “men,” or boys as some of them were.
I must say that I was EXTREAMLY fortunate to have been a member of a highly regarded on the national level, professional (zero nonsense/shenanigans policy) and well administrated Police Explorer Post. And the unfortunate truth is that a large majority of Police Explorers are not as fortunate as I was. My Post Advisor, truly took the program to heart, and spent the same amount if not more time working on the program each week as he did with his standard Law Enforcement duties. In all honesty, he had no “life.” His life was Law Enforcement, Police Exploring, and of course the occasional Harley Ride/Golf Match.
Now to get to my point and thank you for bearing with me, as I write this on Firehouse.com, you may have already came to the conclusion that I did not choose to pursue a career in Law Enforcement, but rather the Fire Service. This is in no way a reflection of my experience as a Police Explorer, but rather a personal choice.
I am and have always been sincerely interested in pioneering an Explorer program within my agency. And I have already tossed back and forth the idea of “Explorers (Chartered by Learning for Life) vs. Junior Firefighter Program (Department’s Responsibility To Develop Policy, ECT.) And am quite firm on my choice to pursue the Explorer Route.
In my rant/seeking advice here today, I would like the opinions of my fellow Firefighters about Exploring and Junior programs. Also, has anyone successfully started such a program in their agency? What kind of struggles did you face, what were your fundraising tactics, how did you develop agency specific S.O.P./S.O.G.’s for your program? Also, are you a volunteer, combination, paid on call or career department? Any information you can provide would be more then appreciated!
I have my own set of opinions on the program and in case you have not already gathered, most are positive, but I agree that Explorer programs need to be watched closely and that rules must be enforced.
Isn’t this how we should act as Firefighters at every level, with every department anyway? I would like to hear what YOU have to say on the matter. Chief Officers all the way down to Firefighters are encouraged to reply.
Thank you!
I must say that I was EXTREAMLY fortunate to have been a member of a highly regarded on the national level, professional (zero nonsense/shenanigans policy) and well administrated Police Explorer Post. And the unfortunate truth is that a large majority of Police Explorers are not as fortunate as I was. My Post Advisor, truly took the program to heart, and spent the same amount if not more time working on the program each week as he did with his standard Law Enforcement duties. In all honesty, he had no “life.” His life was Law Enforcement, Police Exploring, and of course the occasional Harley Ride/Golf Match.
Now to get to my point and thank you for bearing with me, as I write this on Firehouse.com, you may have already came to the conclusion that I did not choose to pursue a career in Law Enforcement, but rather the Fire Service. This is in no way a reflection of my experience as a Police Explorer, but rather a personal choice.
I am and have always been sincerely interested in pioneering an Explorer program within my agency. And I have already tossed back and forth the idea of “Explorers (Chartered by Learning for Life) vs. Junior Firefighter Program (Department’s Responsibility To Develop Policy, ECT.) And am quite firm on my choice to pursue the Explorer Route.
In my rant/seeking advice here today, I would like the opinions of my fellow Firefighters about Exploring and Junior programs. Also, has anyone successfully started such a program in their agency? What kind of struggles did you face, what were your fundraising tactics, how did you develop agency specific S.O.P./S.O.G.’s for your program? Also, are you a volunteer, combination, paid on call or career department? Any information you can provide would be more then appreciated!
I have my own set of opinions on the program and in case you have not already gathered, most are positive, but I agree that Explorer programs need to be watched closely and that rules must be enforced.
Isn’t this how we should act as Firefighters at every level, with every department anyway? I would like to hear what YOU have to say on the matter. Chief Officers all the way down to Firefighters are encouraged to reply.
Thank you!
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