Strike! Pin! Protect!
“This is a tough week for the candidates,” Sgt. Mike Evans said, who went through this same training in 2008. “We push them physically and mentally so they know what they can handle. We push them to their limits.”
This is the Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team (SERT) training. By the end of the week, more than 50 percent of the candidates will ring the bell to drop out. Fourteen deputies began the week – eight candidates from the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office and six from Arlington County Sheriff’s Office. A unique opportunity in the team’s 30-year history, this was the first time they’ve included another agency to participate. However, by Friday, only six deputies will receive their SERT pin and their black shirt.
“It’s special to have the opportunity to share this training with the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office,” said Sgt. George “246” Wright, a 30-year SERT veteran, and team instructor. “On average, we have this training about every two years, and we’ve really tried to include our neighbor sheriff’s offices. And this time it worked out. It’s great to share our training and knowledge, as well as learn from them about how they approach situations.”
In the Beginning…
The team initially stood up in 1995 to fulfill the need to respond to specific incidents within the jail and the community. According to Wright, SERT members are specially trained to work together minimizing the risk to deputies and inmates and respond strategically to meet the mission.
“Before we established the team, if there was a disturbance in the jail, or we needed to remove an inmate from their cell, we’d send in a bigger deputy to deal with the situation,” Wright said. “That didn’t always turn out the best. Now, we have a plan. When an incident occurs. We all train together, we know each other. Because of that cohesion built from training and experience, when called up we respond and feed off of each other ensuring the desired outcome. And maintain safety to the deputies and the inmates.”
That outcome could be anything from responding to a disturbance in the jail to providing the extra officer presence for increased security.
The training week continues for the candidates. As Monday turns into Tuesday, the instructors continue to push the candidates to the limit both physically and mentally – lots of physical training, classroom work, and practical exercises to demonstrate their ability to apply what they are taught and work with their teammates.
“Thirty years ago, the first training was three weeks long – we had one week on, one week off, one week on, one week off,” Wright laughs recalling his class. “By the end of the week we were off, we did not want to come back because we knew what was coming. We started with 50 [candidates] and graduated 14.”
Now the training is a week-long – 50 hours of hard work. By the middle of the week, five candidates have “rung the bell,” or had to drop out for one reason or another. Evans says “they all try hard. Some have to drop due to injury, some drop because it’s not what they expected it to be. But we encourage them all to try out again. And we continue with those who stay in the game.”
It’s Wednesday, Just the Mid-point
Around 2 p.m., on Wednesday, in the North tower of the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, the remaining nine candidates prepare for the dormitory disturbance simulation.
Current SERT members “decorate” a cell block to be as chaotic as possible. The doorway is barricaded, sheets are torn and strung all over the block; toilet paper, soap, game pieces thrown haphazardly all over the cell block. The idea behind the disorder is to simulate a disturbance allowing the SERT candidates the opportunity to put everything they have learned up to this point to use.
Outside the door, the candidates dress out in helmets and gas masks. They stack up and maneuver through the barricaded door and into the block. Immediately they are assaulted with projectiles from the “inmates.” Step by step, they clear a path, move each “inmate” into his cell. Regrouping as needed to progress forward. 
After about 30 minutes, the simulation is over. Though they are physically and emotionally drained after the exercise, as each candidate removes his mask and helmet, smiles form and they nod that yes, they are happy that part is complete. But the week is not over. They still have two full days of physical training, more classwork, and more simulations before Friday’s graduation.
“As difficult as this training is, it’s a lot of it is team building. It also ensures as a new member each person can achieve what is expected of them,” Evans said.
And Then There Were 6
By the time graduation comes around Friday afternoon, six candidates graduate and receive their insignia pin. One candidate from Arlington County, five from Fairfax County.
During his graduation speech as SERT commander, 2nd Lt. Nehemiah Meeks welcomes the now graduates to the team, and tells them a lot is expected from them. Training is over, and now they are members of the Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team. There’s a lot of responsibility that goes with the insignia they earned this past week. He also stresses to the Arlington graduate that even though he is with another sheriff’s office, he is part of their team saying, “you never know when we may need help, or when you may need help. We support each other.”
With his final SERT school under his belt, Wright encourages the new members to “stay focused.”
“You’ve worked hard to get where you are. Continue with your passion and your drive, continue to learn and refine your skills.”
Of the team, Wright says, “This is a brotherhood. I’ve seen a lot of change in the past 30 years. Our team has grown our training has changed. All law enforcement is a family. And this team is a tight-knit family. We know we have each other’s back one hundred percent. We depend on each other, we train together, we respond together.”
To the next generation
During this training week, several veteran SERT members provided the newest members with a gift of a lifetime: their knowledge and experience. For some of the veterans, this will be the last SERT school they teach as they begin their transition into new adventures, new aspects of their lives. And it will be up to those continuing on the team to keep up traditions, maintain training, and solidify the comradery that becomes the glue holding these teams together.
And as if to test their readiness, almost immediately following their graduation, SERT new and veteran were called to suit up to provide protection for the courthouse as the security system failed. Everyone was safe, there were minimal interruptions to the everyday operations at the courthouse. Sometimes it is merely the added officer presence that helps maintain safety and security.
Once again, a huge congratulations to the newest team members, and heart-felt thank you to those about to retire.