AST Digital Magazine August 2017 Digital-Aug | Page 55

Volume 15
becoming a special agent. Courtesy of the FBI and YouTube)
The training will be taxing on many levels—aca-
demically, physically, and psychologically—and
success is far from guaranteed.
But through the close bonds inevitably formed
by fellow classmates and support from the Acad-
emy’s training staff, new agents will endure the
challenge s that lie ahead.
Over the span of five months, trainees will learn
the fundamentals of the special agent tradecraft.
• They’ll root out drug dealers and bank robbers
in Hogan’s Alley, the FBI’s mock town and
practical training facility.
• They’ll expose terrorist cells and learn how to
conduct challenging interviews.
• They’ll study legal issues and investigative
procedures, gather and analyze evidence,
and fire thousands of rounds at the range.
• Along the way, new agent trainees will work
alongside new intelligence analysts to identify
threats and develop critical thinking skills.
August 2017 Edition
Just getting to the Academy was a long and
hard-fought journey for the trainees arriving this
summer day.
They had to compete against tens of thousands
of applicants in one of the most grueling selec-
tion processes in the country.
(Special Agent David Lewis recalls arriving at the FBI Acad-
emy and feeling uncertain about the months ahead. Courtesy
of the FBI and YouTube)
Navigating the many elements of the application
process—including several rounds of interviews
and a thorough background check—was its own
test. Ultimately, perseverance paid off.
Like their predecessors, this class of new agents
comes with a variety of career experiences—
some not as traditional as you might expect.
The majority of students have military, law en-
forcement, or criminal justice backgrounds, but
there are also former teachers, scientists, IT pro-
fessionals, entrepreneurs, and more.
(New agents attend the FBI’s Onboarding New Employees
(ONE) program before beginning their first week of training.
The program introduces employees to the FBI’s history, cul-
ture, and structure. Courtesy of the FBI and YouTube)
The intense training regimen is necessary to pre-
pare new agents to carry out the FBI’s complex
mission of protecting the nation from a host of
major national security and criminal threats—in-
cluding those posed by terrorists, spies, hackers,
gangs, and more—while upholding civil rights and
the Constitution of the United States.
In today’s global and digitally driven age, diver-
sity on many levels is a necessity for the FBI,
and this group was carefully chosen for the wide-
ranging set of skills and perspectives they bring
to the table.
Many of the trainees are here after deciding to
switch careers mid-stream, feeling the need to
serve their country or tackle a new challenge.
For others, like Liz, being an agent is the culmi-
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nation of a lifelong dream.