There I go again, leaving you all in the lurch for a few days (okay, okay, so maybe it was more like a week, but hey, I’m learning to be a political government employee who uses “soft” terms to lessen the blow) – I do so hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me. And to those of you who are heartless (you know who you are), blegh on you!!!

So anyway, it has been a fun-filled few days. I finally re-qualified this week, and although a 210 goes down on my permanent record (b/c they feel that if you fail the first time, you get more time on the range and may have an unfair advantage), we like to call that “71 and a gun.” That means that anything over a passing grade still gets you a job. (All of our written exams must exceed a grade of 70 to be considered passing.)

So that was the first order of business for the week. A new practical they introduced this week is the fun-filled adventures of serving a search warrant and building entry. We all get to go into an unknown house in teams of 8 and “clear” it. Let me tell you that it is pretty terrifying to be the first one into a house where there may or may not be someone armed and looking to shoot him/her some federal agents… But still we go inside. Our practical exam on this stuff is Monday morning, bright and early at 7:30AM.

During a few of our practices, a few of us even got to play suspects hidden in the homes. I want you to know that I managed to kill me two cops, and one suspect. Good times had by me. Of course, during these exercises we use blank ammunition so nobody really gets hurt and we all learn what not to do. It’s only in simunitions that we use bullets that spew out colored paint when they hit your padding (yes, we go in in full padded suits, with a full helmet).

In any case, the good news that comes out of search warrants is that it is highly unlikely that I will ever be doing any of this during my tenure as a Special Agent for the State Department. Let me take the time now to emphasize that it is only by act of Congress that we are down here at FLETC at all. They deem that all 1811’s (which I believe breaks down to mean any federal employee that is required to carry a gun) must go through this CITP training program here at FLETC.

That being said, I will move on…

On Tuesday the “A” group (i.e. half of our CITP class) encountered our first P.E. (which is “practical exam”). We had to display our prowess in non-lethal control techniques, which basically translates into handcuffing a compliant, but obnoxious, suspect. I want you to know that I have excellent verbal skills, a professional manner, and was the only girl that removed the woman’s toe rings. Yay! 71 and a gun, baby…

So my suspect was dressed up like a ho’ – Andrew, I know you like that – including a corset. Corsets suck. We basically have to violate the role players to get all the “weapons” and “contraband” and “means of escape” we can, but when a woman is wearing a corset, that gets about ten times harder. The boning hides a lot of things…

But whatever, I came, I saw, I conquered. And if any of you want to test my prowess, me and my cuffs will be up in the DC area in December.

The big thing this week was our surveillance. I was the team leader so that made my life miserable. The Op Plan alone took about 6 hours to complete, and I didn’t have any information to start it with until the night before the surveillance. So I got a whole lot of sleep the night before, I swear.

In any case, the surveillance went down on Thursday, from 12:30PM through 11:30PM. What a royal pain in the buttocks. We were so exhausted by the end of it, we could barely move. However, I will categorically say that we all had a great time! And it’s a lot more difficult than it looks on t.v.! You have to get so close to the subject that you can read the newspaper article he/she is reading. It’s simply amazing. We did pretty well for our first time working together as a group, but I, being the perfectionist that I am, wish we did better. The best thing about our operation was that we didn’t once lose the subject. There was always someone on him/her (we did two surveillances: one for a practice, and then a second one for our continuing case investigation).

But let me say that you’ve never truly had fun until you get to chase someone all over the place, sprinting from your car with a camera every time that person gets out of their vehicle, and to top it all off, getting hit on by some random person when you’re on a surveillance! Yes, your friendly neighborhood federal agent, Ryan, got a number while checking out the Brunswick jetport! See how well I fit in???

So, the surveillance about pooped us all out for our Friday classes. I couldn’t even tell you anything about the day other than the fact that I survived it. Somehow.

That evening Brian, Galo and I had made plans to go out to the local Walmart (a.k.a. Wallyworld) and we were all sitting around in their connected cells. Next thing we know, I’m opening my eyes and the clock reads 7:30PM. We just completely passed out.

I still got to Walmart (thank you Galo!), but I was back in bed by 9:00PM. Good times, baby.

Today was a bit of fun too! You should all know that we have three different driving tests we have to pass: Non-Emergency Vehicle Operation (NEVO), Emergency Response Driving (ERD), and Skids. This morning I practiced NEVO and Skids. I am the 360 degree skid QUEEN. And don’t you forget it! I was the only one who managed a full circle skid, and if you ever get the opportunity to play in someone else’s car, I highly suggest you try it!!! I had a blast in that car this morning…the only thing that really stinks is the left-hand parallel parking you have to do in the NEVO course.

And that’s my story. I have to run off and check on my laundry today. I am trying to get a few things done before the party we’re hosting at the G-Bar tonight. Two more DS classes came in this past week and a half and we’re trying to welcome them to the wonderful world of FLETC. (By the way, Mel, guess who is here in the last DS class??? Vanessa Freeman…from Model UN. It’s a small, small world)

Okay, well, that’s it for me…I hear the Tide and Bounce calling my name….

Lots of love, with a reminder that it is 27 days and counting...