Have you ever seen people in the armed forces march and do drills? Well in the Explorer program, kids do that just as well as the pros. The New York Police Department Explorers is a youth program for kids between the age of 14-20. Exploring's purpose is to provide experiences that help young people mature and to prepare them to become responsible and caring adults. Explorers are ready to investigate the meaning of interdependence in their personal relationships and communities.There are various Explorer posts around the city, there are also various agencies that also conduct different Explorer groups, such as Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Customs Service, New York State MTA Police, AMTRAK Police, The New York City Department of Correction, NYS Office of Homeland Security, ATF and U.S. Secret Service.
My current post number is 2004, 4 meaning PSA # 4 Lower East Side the location of where we have our weekly meetings and over all our central location. Another type of post number would be 5230 meaning Transit District 30.
Some of the many things that go on in an explorer meeting, is that we do various things every week, for example we always do military drills at the beginning of the meeting for about an hour. After we have practiced drills, we take a five minute break and begin to go over a scenario; some of the scenarios we go over are car stops, domestic violence, bomb threats, search arrest and seizure, white collar crime, burglary in progress, hostage negotiations, crime prevention, traffic investigation, first aid, and crime scene. We also have Physical Training (PT), where we work out for at least an hour. Going over these scenarios prepares us for biannual competitions each winter and spring when Explorers all around the city get together and compete in drills and scenarios against each other, to put their skills and experience to the test.
Some Explorer posts do not do many of these things,focusing more on one segment of training. For example, during a competition there were Explorer posts that only went to compete in drills because all they went over was drilling. While drilling everyone is standing in a formation, the formation is depending on how many people are there so if there are eight people the formation would four people in front and four people behind head behind head and when the marching part begins the whole formation is turned to the right making the formation two by four, also when marching we as a whole march on the same foot and to make that happen we always begin with out left foot. Explorers competing in drill is not only about doing the drills but also about the tricks you do after, the tricks you do afterwards can determined whether you get first, second or third. Tricks are made up within the posts; a trick my post did was splitting the formation into their own and then bringing them back, all while staying on the same step or foot. In my post’s last competition we lost third place by half a point because the other post had done one more drill than we did, so that gave them the upper hand.
Something that the Explorer program gives us is discipline and responsibility. We are taught responsibility by giving rank to an Explorer that has earned and shown that they can take on the responsibility of the rank they receive. For example, the rank structure starts with the Rank of Corporal. There is not much done in this rank but it does prepare you on taken the following rank of Sergeant. Sergeants have more work and responsibility to take on; in my post we have four Sergeants, and each one of them has a specific job. The jobs are as listed; Administrative SGT (handles all paperwork), Training SGT (Handles teaching other explorers how to do scenarios), Platoon SGT (Handles drilling and marching the explorers), and finally Community Service SGT (Handles getting the post community service to log hours).
The following rank is Lieutenant who also becomes a so-called “white shirt.” Meanwhile, others below remain dark blue shirts and their job is the same as the Administrative SGT but they handle the complicated paperwork and money. Next is Captain their job is very simple all they have to do is over see the Lieutenant. Finally the highest rank in our post is Deputy Inspector, their job is to be able to write letters to people that can donate money towards the post for equipment and other needs and also oversees the entire post. After that rank you move on to chiefs and you also go into another post with other future chiefs. As you go through the ranks you learn discipline like knowing when to it’s time to play and have fun and when it’s time to be serious and do work. Overall the program is fun but you have to be really into the program to see the fun we have. I personally think you should join the program if you would like to know what really happens in a cops job and why they do the things they do. Also if you have every wanted to be inside a cop car and learn how to operate it this program gives you that.