March 2021 End of Watch Monthly Update
February 2021 - 24 Officers Down
Sixty-four.
Sixty-four is the current number of officers lost in the line of duty from just the first two months of 2021. As I read through the officer bios, I found that seventeen of the officers fell due to the violent and felonious actions of the suspect. I highlight this as a reminder to my fellow officers to remain vigilant; keep your head on a swivel, and to always have each other’s back. Effective teamwork is a necessity to make it home safely at the end of the shift.
After the 2020 End of Watch Memorial Ruck (EOWMR), I was approached by a number of participants who shared with me how they took the core values discussed in the pre-ruck briefs back to their agencies, churches, and workplace and applied them with great success. With that in mind, you will notice a shift in the focus of these monthly newsletters to a review of those core principles and how you can apply them at your agency, business, and in life.
Before we dive into a review of those core principles, allow me to set the stage for someone who has never attended one of our events. Our annual event is simple, but most certainly not easy. It’s simple as the most basic instructions are to carry a few pounds of weight for a few miles. Sounds easy enough right? Well in all honesty we make a significant effort to ensure you take more home with you than just sore feet. There is much more than carrying weight that is going on at the event.
When the athletes arrive at the start/finish line of the event, they find themselves looking at a table full of one-pound lead weights. Each pound represents an officer that died in the line of duty. To give perspective, in 2020 there were 147 weights with teams varying in size from 12-15 people. The athletes are then given instructions to carry the weight for the distance of their leg which could also vary from 15 to 26 miles. The number one rule is that the weight must go “every step of every mile” whether each athlete goes every mile or not.
TEAMWORK IS KEY
Everything about the annual event is set up to represent a larger concept, struggle, or lesson. The weight, the miles, the team size, and the event structure are all designed to take advantage of teachable moments and symbolism which is woven all throughout the event.
The event is designed to require teamwork amongst the participants in order to accomplish the task. No one person can carry all the weight for every mile. They must rely on each other and work together, sharing the weights and working in shifts to carry the burden. In a way, you could say that the teams are set up to fail; but that is only if they do not apply the principle of “Teamwork is Key”.
When a team starts out on their leg of the event, they are full of energy and feeling expectant of what will be accomplished. Similar to how a rookie feels fresh out of the academy; they have a gun on their hip, a badge on their chest, a fast car, and all the motivation in the world. Fast forward 20 years -- or 20 miles -- and the weight begins to build. After years of responding to gruesome traffic accidents, abused children, domestic violence, and many other unspeakable scenes, the burden builds in what's known as “cumulative stress”. The burden of the badge now bearing heavily on your shoulders; you need help carrying the burden.
You have support all around but the pain in your shoulders, knees, and sole -- or soul -- have you focused on just the two to three steps ahead of you. All you have to do is look up, and ask for help. You can’t forget about the friends to your right and to your left who started this journey with you. By the end of your miles, your team has gone from awkwardly introducing each other as strangers to best friends working together, sweating together, and hurting together, all for the same mission. Proud of the challenges you overcame.
No man is an island. While no one person can carry the weight alone, with your team, your coworkers, friends, and family, anything is possible. Teamwork is KEY to unlocking the greater potential of what is possible.
Stay tuned as we plan to continue diving into the core value of Teamwork is Key and how you can apply it in law enforcement, business, and life.
If you would like to join us in our mission to honor the fallen and support those still on watch by starting a satellite monthly End of Watch Memorial Ruck in your area, please reach out through this link. Alternatively, you can join us by simply throwing some weight in your ruck and getting some miles in around your neighborhood. We’ve been seeing your posts and are proud of what you are doing out there.
The goal is to do a mile for each officer down in the line of duty while carrying 20 pounds to match the average weight in duty gear an officer carries on a daily basis. While this is the goal, please adjust the weight and miles to your capabilities.
Thank you for your continued support, look forward to seeing everyone soon!
Take care,
Caleb
Monthly Ruck Locations
Northwest Florida
RSVP - Facebook Event
Avalon Blvd Park-n-Ride
2806 Avalon Blvd
Milton, FL 32583
Saturday, March 13
7:30am reading of the names.
Step off immediately following.
San Antonio Rucking Club
Leon Creek Greenway Trails
Valero Park Trailhead
Saturday, March 13th
8pm reading of the names
Step off immediately following
February’s Honor Wall
Sergeant Grace A. Bellamy
End of Watch:
Monday, February 1, 2021.
Georgia Department of Corrections, Georgia
Lieutenant Michael Boutte
End of Watch:
Monday, February 1, 2021.
Hancock County Sheriff's Office, Mississippi
Special Agent Laura Ann Schwartzenberger
End of Watch:
Tuesday, February 2, 2021.
United States Department of Justice - Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Government
Special Agent Daniel Alfin
End of Watch:
Tuesday, February 2, 2021
United States Department of Justice - Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Government
Agent Juan Rosado-López
End of Watch:
Wednesday, February 3, 2021
Puerto Rico Police Department, Puerto Rico
Detention Officer Robert Perez
End of Watch:
Wednesday, February 3, 2021
Harris County Sheriff's Office, Texas
Patrolman Darian Jarrott
End of Watch:
Thursday, February 4, 2021
New Mexico State Police, New Mexico
Officer Cesar Dangaran Sibonga
End of Watch:
Thursday, Sunday, February 7, 2021
United States Department of Homeland Security - Customs and Border Protection - Office of Field Operations, U.S. Government
Deputy Sheriff Ross Dixon
End of Watch:
Tuesday, February 9, 2021
Cambria County Sheriff's Office, Pennsylvania
Corrections Officer IV Vicky James
End of Watch:
Wednesday, February 10, 2021
Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division, Texas
Chief of Police Timothy John Sheehan
End of Watch:
Thursday, February 11, 2021
California Borough Police Department, Pennsylvania
Police Officer Mitchell Penton
End of Watch:
Saturday, February 13, 2021
Dallas Police Department, Texas
Officer Genaro Guerrero
End of Watch:
Monday, February 15, 2021
United States Department of Homeland Security - Customs and Border Protection - Office of Field Operations, U.S. Government
Corrections Officer IV Tawiwo Obele
End of Watch:
Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division, Texas
Major Estaban "Stevie" Ramirez, III
End of Watch:
Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Bell County Sheriff's Office, Texas
Sergeant Richard Paul Brown
End of Watch:
Wednesday, February 17, 2021
Fresno Police Department, California
Deputy Sheriff Michael Magli
End of Watch:
Wednesday, February 17, 2021
Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, Florida
Police Officer Horacio Dominguez
End of Watch:
Sunday, February 21, 2021
Miccosukee Tribal Police Department, Tribal Police
Lieutenant Eugene Lasco
End of Watch:
Sunday, February 21, 2021
Indiana Department of Correction, Indiana
Natural Resources Officer Jason Lagore
End of Watch:
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
Ohio Department of Natural Resources - Division of State Parks and Watercraft, Ohio
Officer Carlos Mendoza
End of Watch:
Wednesday, February 24, 2021
United States Department of Homeland Security - Customs and Border Protection - Office of Field Operations, U.S. Government
Deputy Sheriff Thomas Albanese
End of Watch:
Thursday, February 25, 2021
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, California
Reserve Deputy Constable Martinus Mitchum
End of Watch:
Friday, February 26, 2021
Second City Court of New Orleans Constable's Office, Louisiana
Police Officer Dominic Jared Winum
End of Watch:
Friday, February 26, 2021
Stanley Police Department, Virginia
