GMC News

A Message from President Caldwell on Law Enforcement Appreciation Day

Most Americans wake up in the morning with the luxury of assuming that they’ll survive the day at work. They don’t physically or mentally prepare themselves for bullets, brawls, or bloodshed. For most, thankfully, those situations are only likely to play out on a television screen.

But law enforcement officers begin every shift prepared for anything. They strap on body armor and carry weapons because any given day could potentially end in disaster.

Their job gives them a front-row seat and backstage pass to every incarnation of danger and tragedy. When the worst aspects of humanity surface, the men and women who protect and serve our community are on the scene. They see the drowning victim’s body, comfort the abused child, and stand tall against lawbreakers. While most people run away from gunfire, law enforcement officers must run toward it.

Imagine the toll it takes on a human being to spend a career driving from tragedy to tragedy hoping they’ll be able to help. Law enforcement officers often must endure every shift seeing society in some of its worst moments.

What we ask of these officers is monumentally huge.  We ask them to face horrors lurking in the darkness.  We ask them to make split-second decisions in rapidly evolving situations with enormous consequences, while the rest of society has the benefit of the 20/20 vision of hindsight.  Even though the vast majority of officers are above reproach, they are all impacted when even one officer commits an ill deed.

Most importantly, we ask them to stand between us and any danger that may surface so that the rest of us can feel safe and secure.

Over the last few years, law enforcement agencies all over the U.S. have seen a massive rise in resignations and retirements along with a decline in the number of people willing to take on the huge responsibility of the job. Numbers like these can have disastrous results for society if they lead to less qualified, less equipped individuals filling the need.

At Georgia Military College, we are proud to now play a role in helping to train and prepare law enforcement professionals to deal with the daily rigors of the job and to be leaders in their field and communities at large.

GMC is a leadership institution where we deliver education focused on the values of Duty, Honor, Love of Country, and “Character Above All.” We have a long history of developing leaders in our Corps of Cadets; leaders who have gone on to serve in every branch of the Armed Forces. Now, we have implemented a program that will prepare a cohort of GMC cadets to excel in the law enforcement arena. Our Georgia Public Safety Leadership Program will prepare a new generation of law enforcement leaders and Peace Officers through a training program that will provide these cadets with extensive training in leadership, character, values, fitness, investigations, emergency vehicle operation, firearms, defensive tactics, and officer resiliency culminating in the award of an Associate in Criminal Justice, with the option to earn a Bachelor’s Degree with GMC online.

We also provide a 10% tuition discount to all law enforcement members and their families.  Another opportunity is The George Hogan Sr. Scholarship.  This scholarship was established to honor the Chairman of the GMC Board of Trustees, a former leader at the Georgia State Patrol and the first African American trooper in Middle Georgia. This scholarship provides an opportunity to those who want to protect and serve as leaders in law enforcement, something incredibly important to us.

At GMC, we believe in the mission of our men and women in blue, and we want to make sure that future generations of officers will have the tools, education, and preparation they need to shoulder the daunting responsibilities of a career in law enforcement.

On this Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, we’re grateful for every officer on our GMC Campus, across Milledgeville and Baldwin County, and throughout Georgia and the United States who put themselves in harm’s way every day to protect and serve our community. Thank you all for your selfless service and commitment to others!