PASCO COUNTY, Fla. – Pasco Sheriff’s Office Explorer Post 916 was busy during June! Explorers took part in two competitions recently and earned a state championship in the process!
Explorer Post 916 competed in the 2023 Florida Association of Police Explorers State Competition last week. Throughout the week, Explorers competed in events such as color guard, drill team, 9mm pistol shooting and scenario-based categories.
Post 916’s state team responded to scenarios that imitated real-life calls-for-service and were evaluated by judges on areas such as officer safety, communication skills, teamwork, tactics and decision making, knowledge of legal guidelines and state statutes, general law enforcement procedures and uniform appearance. The scenario categories included crime scene investigation, traffic stop, officer needs assistance, crisis intervention, in-progress, search and arrest and a tie-breaker.
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PSO is incredibly proud to announce Explorer Post 916 placed first overall out of 27 programs, with additional awards in:
- 1st place: Search and Arrest
- 1st place: In-Progress
- 1st place: Drill Team
- 2nd place: Traffic Stop
- 2nd place: Tie-Breaker
- 2nd place: Officer Needs Assistance
- 2nd place: Color Guard
Congratulations to PSO Explorer Post 916’s State Team members: Captain Alex Carlisle, Lieutenant Alex Morbach, Sergeant Jeremiah Stewart and Corporal Jaeden Friesen.
Explorer Post 916’s success actually began earlier in the month at a national-level competition. In early June, Explorer Post 916’s state team traveled to Las Vegas to compete at ExCon, a national Explorer competition hosted by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Similar to the state competition, Explorer Post 916 participated in several simulated calls-for-service, in which their performance was evaluated.
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They competed in scenarios involving a crime scene investigation, burglary in-progress, officer needs assistance, suspicious incident, active assailant, incident command system (ICS) and unknown problem. With over 30 programs in attendance, Post 916’s team placed first in suspicious incident and second in the virtual pistol simulation, a strong showing on a national stage.
These dedicated members of Explorer Post 916 put in hours of training ahead of competition, spending their days practicing scenarios they may face during competition and reviewing statutes and procedures. Advisors coached them on ways to improve, things to remember and how these scenarios apply in real calls deputies face. While some of these members may go on to pursue careers in law enforcement, the experience they’ve gained as part of Explorers, and the state team, will carry them forward in any career field they choose.
Congratulations once more to PSO Explorer Post 916’s state team on earning the top spot and on all their competition success this year!
Interested in joining Explorer Post 916?
Visitors are welcome at general meetings every Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Safety Town, located at 15362 Alric Pottberg Rd., Shady Hills, FL. For more information, visit PascoExplorers.PascoSheriff.com.
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