The New Explorers

[Telefrog]

Many are unfamiliar with The Explorers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploring_(Learning_for_Life)), which is a national youth organization in the spirit of the Boy Scouts (in fact, it started as a coaffiliate program) that centers on career training for law enforcement, military, and other security/emergency groups. It's sort of like vocational Scouts on steroids.

A lot of my teenage years were spent in the Fort Huachuca/Sierra Vista AZ Explorers which trained hand in hand with the local Army presence. It was fun and taught me alot of valuable skills like orienteering, conservation, and CPR. Along with that, there was a bit of firearms training. Yes, firearms. My group started with paintball guns, then moved on to old US Army M-16s at live fire ranges. Most of the training was spent on firearms safety.

This post is not about the firearm training or teens with guns. I think we can all agree that giving kids a healthy respect for firearms is good, especially when you are teaching kids that are interested in miltary or law enforcement careers anyway.

This post is about the troubling direction The Explorers seem to be headed. The NY Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/us/14explorers.html?_r=1) has the story.

Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, many posts have taken on an emphasis of fighting terrorism and other less conventional threats.

“Before it was more about the basics,” said Johnny Longoria, a Border Patrol agent here. “But now our emphasis is on terrorism, illegal entry, drugs and human smuggling.”

[...]

In a competition in Arizona that he did not oversee, Deputy Lowenthal said, one role-player wore traditional Arab dress. “If we’re looking at 9/11 and what a Middle Eastern terrorist would be like,” he said, “then maybe your role-player would look like that. I don’t know, would you call that politically incorrect?”

Personally, I find this story, and others like it very disturbing. This is not the same organization I was in back in the 80's. (You kids get off my lawn!)

[National Kato]

Thanks for the refreshing change of pace in thread topics, Telefrog.

As a former Scout, I feel these types of organizations are great for kids, especially when it includes a good deal of hands-on education. I also feel that the organizations are susceptible to influence from private and federal agencies.

Telefrog, when you were a part of The Explorers, who was behind the organization? From the NYT article, it now appears most of the mentors work with Border Patrol, the FBI, or other federal agencies. Previously, they say it was affiliates of the Scouts called Learning For Life (http://www.scouting.org/Media/AnnualReports/2006/13lflsummary.aspx). I could also see private security firms taking an interest with this if the placement is shown to be high once these kids choose a career in later years. I'm not sure how I feel about private security firms getting large influxes of members while our armed forces suffer.

“Our end goal is to create more agents,” said April McKee, a senior Border Patrol agent and mentor at the session here.That kind of focus concerns me. It doesn't bother me, per se, but I can be cynical and expect the worst sometimes.

“My uncle was a sheriff’s deputy,” said Alexandra Sanchez, 17, who joined the Explorers when she was 13. Alexandra’s police uniform was baggy on her lithe frame, her airsoft gun slung carefully to the side. She wants to be a coroner. “I like the idea of having law enforcement work with medicine,” she said. “This is a great program for me.” This seems like a good result. I trust a lot of kids have their heads on straight and might use this program as a fun, educational diversion and alternative from summer camp-like options. At the least, like Alexandra, we get people moving into specialized careers with well-rounded experience that complements their chosen profession. As long as the purpose is more clearly defined to both the kids and their parents, as well as noting the sponsoring organization, I don't see a problem at the end of the day.

[Telefrog]

Back when I was in Explorers, our group's sponsor was the US Army, but that was mostly because Sierra Vista AZ is completely dependent on the Army base nearby. The active miltary in Fort Huachuca does a lot (if not most) of the border patrol, firefighting, and emergency rescue duties in town under the guise of "training." Huachuca is the US Army Military Intelligence training base, so much of the fort's focus is on the more academic aspects of the field. Analysis, observation, producing actionable intel, etc.

[Ox]

I could also see private security firms taking an interest with this if the placement is shown to be high once these kids choose a career in later years. I'm not sure how I feel about private security firms getting large influxes of members while our armed forces suffer.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but private security firms very rarely hire kids straight out of school. They don't do basic training. Blackwater and its ilk are predominantly staffed with former U.S. servicepeople enticed by the higher pay.

In other words, I doubt PSCs are really looking at the Explorers as a recruiting pool.

On topic, I think the shift in focus is kind of to be expected. We all sat in our classrooms and fantasized about Red Dawn. Current affairs plays a role in what kids are interested in. Certainly these kids are spinning elaborate fantasies of becoming a combination of James Bond and Jack Bauer when they grow up, and it's a big part of why they enjoy stuff like the Explorers. Within reason, this is natural and healthy, and I imagine most law enforcement personnel throughout history first got interested in the work by hearing about Robin Hood, King Arthur, and damsel-rescuing.

I can also say that this training is just generally useful for citizens: it's far better to understand how and why government agents use force than to be ignorant about it. I've no intention of becoming a cop, but I did firearms training, ride-alongs, and various other classes with local police forces in the past few years. I think I'd be poorly-suited for busting a perp, but understanding when, how, and why police use various techniques, I think I'm a more informed citizen.

[National Kato]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but private security firms very rarely hire kids straight out of school.

Of course. You'll note my comments were intentionally forward thinking.

[Ox]

True. I think the saving grace will be the profit motive. Government agencies and universities may count it a win if they sponsor a summer camp that encourages a child to go into an approved field, but no company can count it as a win if the kid goes to a competitor. Blackwater doesn't want to pour a lot of effort into training some 14-year-old and then have him sign up with the outfit next door. A sheriff's department is a lot less upset if the kid decides to join the department of the neighboring town, or join the Army rather than being a cop. I doubt it would really be a good use of resources for PMCs to train or even indoctrinate kids unless they had some way of guaranteeing the kid wouldn't work for a competitor.

[National Kato]

Branding, Ox! :D Someone at Blackwater hire that Drank (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=8609) guy.

[Inspector Fowler]

As a cop, I have mixed feelings about this stuff. There are many successful cops who don't do this. I sometimes look at the cops who start when they're 16 or 17 getting immersed into "cop culture" and I feel a little bad for them.

There is a healthy dose of cynicism and thick skin that goes along with being a cop. I've noticed that people who start it young (in many cases by having a cop for a father) tend to have less empathy for others because they've never really seen the world from any other point of view besides, "Who is the dirtbag and who can I trust?".

It also doesn't prepare them well for a world after law enforcement, which leads to the very common burned-out-retiree cop who wasn't ready for civilian life but never thought of anything but police work.

However, (back to the mixed feelings thing) I am always bitching that there is not enough empathy on both sides of the fence where law enforcement is concerned. If more citizens had a very grassroots view of how LE works, they would probably get along a lot better with cops (who are just people).

On a related note - last summer my college hosted the national Explorer Scout conference, and over 3,000 young people and their chaperons showed up for a week. It was interesting, but at the end, the US Marshalls had this big demonstration where a Blackhawk came in, they all hopped out of it, and did this house clearing in a kill house they had set up, complete with pre-set snipers in our creek on campus and everything.

While awesome to watch, I still got a little chuckle when I thought, "Somewhere in this audience is a young man or woman who, in 6 or 7 years, is going to be standing in pouring rain directing traffic for some fender bender, getting shouted at by motorists, and he will wonder where his goddamm Blackhawk is."

[Ox]

Branding, Ox! :D Someone at Blackwater hire that Drank (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=8609) guy.
This is far too excellent a point for me to challenge. Bravo.