My second week of law enforcement (and sixth week overall, YIKES) finished up the other day. It was a unique time and I can't wait to go into some details. Sorry ahead of time for the limited pictures! During law enforcement I don't usually think of taking photos.
The first day was a simple day. I sat in on a training about permits. Permits are truly a convoluted topic of discussion because there is so much that goes into them. This training has taught me that it would take more than one training to be able to call out permit details off the top of your head. There are so many minute details about the permit process and what the NPS has to keep in mind when they give one out.
The second day I was out with Brandon. We patrolled Zuma trail again for law enforcement purposes and also to see if all of the "keep off" signs were pulled off the trail. After we did that task Brandon took me back to the office to do an online boat training. At the beginning of the internship I expressed interest in sailing and possibly going to Channel Islands and he made it happen! I had to watch a plethora of long videos and sign waivers to be able to do this which Brandon gave me the time to do. I will be going out on the boat to Channel Islands on Wednesday!
The next day I had the incredible opportunity to spend with chief Trouper Snow (such an epic name) of the Santa Monica Mountains. I had the opportunity to have lunch with him and talk to him casually person to person then also had the opportunity to go back to the office with him and interview him (lowly intern to chief). I obviously won't type out the entire transcript of our conversations but I will share three key things I learned while being able to converse with chief Trouper Snow. One, he is simply a great person in general. Two, his work ethic is off the charts and the amount he has on his plate is almost unfathomable. Three, he is an incredibly efficient boss who truly cares about his employees. Ergo, I enjoyed the time I was able to pick his brain. I learned a lot about the agency and he was willing to share his wisdom and give me great advice. At the end of our time he gave me a "challenge coin". Carrying the challenge coin represents hard work, dedication, respect, and the people you love so I was honored to be able to receive one. It will definitely be one of my cherished possessions I can take back home to Philadelphia.
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| Front of the coin. There are many different coins and this is specifically the Santa Monica Mountains one. |
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| Back of the coin. |
The last day Brandon and I did some patrolling and found some people flying a drone in a non-flying area. At the Santa Monica Mountains there is actually an area where you are allowed to fly drones and planes. These people starting flying in the designated area but the drone was drifting out. Brandon drove up to them and talked to them. He only talked to them and explained the rules because the signs that clarified the flying zone burned down in the fire and were not replaced. After we drove away he contacted another ranger to check up on them to make sure that they kept following the rules. After this we went to the gun range for the rest of the day. Brandon and three other rangers had to update their trainings with their duty weapons and I got to observe the process. I have never been to a gun range before or even shot a gun so the whole experience was new and I learned a lot. It was great because everyone was open to answering any questions I had. Even before I got the chance to ask some questions they explained things I was wondering about! It's always nice to be around people that are so willing to pour into me as much as possible.
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| Chief Trouper Snow calling out commands at the beginning of handgun training. |
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| Jess Cooper (former ProRanger) calling out commands for a different handgun training. |
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