ECSO Explorers participate in Advanced Explorer Academy

Submitted photo.

ELLIS COUNTY — Among the summer’s highlights for Explorers with the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office Post was their participation in the first Advanced Explorer Academy hosted by the Sheriff’s Office and the Colleyville, Coppell and Irving Police departments.

The five-day training saw 20 Explorers who completed the 2014 Basic Explorer Academy take part. Of these, 11 Explorers represented the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office.

"It was an absolute success," Sheriff’s Office Deputy and Lead Advisor Jeff Prater said. "The kids love it. It was 100-percent a success."

On the first day, the Explorers developing their skills in making first contact, with the afternoon spent working on their defense and takedown skills against an instructor wearing Redman protective gear. The second day saw the Explorers participate in an active shooter training that incorporated Simunition (simulated ammunition). The training was held at the Texas Army National Guard facility in Irving and taught by Irving PD’s SWAT officers.

The third day was a 12-hourlong training scenario that began with an anonymous call reporting a bomb threat and ended with the Explorers addressing a suicide bomber threat at Coppell City Hall.

"The kids thought the third day was the best session," Prater said. "We divided the Explorers into five different squads and assigned a chief and second in command to run the command post.

"Throughout the day, they worked the intelligence they were gathering while also having to take other calls we had built into the scenario," he said. "Some of the calls related to the overall scenario; some were bogus. They had to question suspects, figure out that we had supplied them with fake IDs and do surveillance.

"They were putting the pieces of the puzzle together and then we added in an officer-involved shooting," Prater said. "ATF helped us out and we had a real judge who reviewed the Explorers’ warrants and kept rejecting them until they got them right" by having the correct probable cause in their warrants.

The training scenario ended at about 8 p.m. when the Explorers identified their suspect and converged on City Hall, where they used their negotiating skills to talk the suicide bomber into surrendering.

"The kids thought this was the greatest scenario ever," Prater said. "We’ll have to come up with something special to keep them on their toes next year."

The fourth day saw the Explorers took part in an all-day ropes-type course challenge on the fourth day before wrapping up their week on the fifth day with a full day spent at the gun range. About half of the Explorers qualified for the Learning for Life Firearms Expert Shooter Award during the academy.

ECSO Explorer Trevor Snodgress received the Top Shot Award; ECSO Explorer Lt. Gage Adams won the 3-Gun Match Award.

Prater said the agencies plan to continue hosting the basic and advanced academies and may add a third level of academy for those Explorers who have now completed the first two levels. You may reach the ECSO Explorer program supervisor, Deputy Jeff Prater, by email at jeff.prater@co.ellis.tx.us or by calling 972-825-4934.