salt in an Olympic sized pool, she
can smell it.”
Once the second week of training
is complete, the teams and their
instructors then travel across the
state for another two weeks of
extensive explosives training in
Augusta with the Richmond County
Sheriff’s Office.
After a rigorous five-week course,
instructors put each handler and
K-9 team to the final test. This exam
requires the teams to successfully
identify hidden explosives in
several different scenarios including
building searches, luggage, open
areas and vehicles. Instructors
Turner and Donald McVean with
the Richmond County Sheriff’s
Office, planted a total of 20 odors
and the teams are required to
successfully find 18 out of the 20 to
receive certification.
The standards for being a
GEMA/HS certified explosives
detection K-9 are some the toughest
in the nation, but Turner said with
the climate of the world today, it’s
necessary.
“We’re seeing more and more
creative ways to utilize explosives
and reign terror on folks. These guys
are very highly trained and by the
time they leave here, not only do
they know a good bit about dogs,
they also learn quite a bit about
counter terrorism,” said Turner.
Taylor said the GEMA/HS
state program offers the counties
a critical asset. “Anytime that
we can make our county safer is
going to help us and, in the long
run, homeland security efforts
statewide.”
Even before the teams set foot
on training grounds, their K-9s are
hand selected with the help of Keys
and Turner, who look for a few
critical facets in dogs.
To make the first cut as a GEMA/
HS EOD K-9 a dog must show
they've got the drive, the hunt, and
the game – willingness to hunt an
odor.
Twenty-two K-9s made the cut
when the program started and
that number has now doubled.
GEMA/HS not only funds the
K-9s for each of these counties,
but also their vehicles, equipment,
supplies, training aids and the
explosives for training exercises.
They also receive additional
funding towards maintenance and
vehicle replacement. Typically a
K-9 can serve the state up to eight
or nine years. Once the dog retires,
GEMA/HS works to replace the
team with a new K-9 and handler.
The training for these EOD K-9
teams doesn’t end at certification.
GEMA/HS provides K-9s and
their trainers a lifetime of training.
Now that these dogs are certified,
GEMA/HS and the state of
Georgia have four more EOD
K-9 teams to serve the people of
Georgia and protect homeland
security.
GEMA/HS EOD K-9 Team Facts
• 1in 10 dogs makes the cut to become an EOD K-9
• Each K-9 can cost up to $12,000
• With equipment, vehicles and training, each
GEMA/HS K-9 EOD Team costs $100,000
• Most GEMA/HS EOD K-9s originate from Germany
and Columbia
P.O.S.T. instructors bring
training to Georgia responders
By Brandy Mai
P
ublic safety is a function of
our society that’s carried
out by peace officers in
multiple agencies and
organizations. Georgia Peace
Officer Standards and Training
Council oversees training of all
peace officers for the state, to
ensure the highest degree of
excellence in public safety. One
such way they provide this training
is by certifying individuals as
P.O.S.T. instructors who can teach
public safety courses in their home
communities.
Instructors are certified through an
extensive 80-hour training course
that’s taught at the Georgia Public
Safety Training Center and other
satellite locations throughout the
state. The course is taught with two
weeks of on-site training, a week
of course development that’s done
at the student’s home agency, and
one teachback that occurs after the
student graduates.
“The standards are set very high
for this course,” said Jeff Miller,
Director of Certification and
Training for Georgia P.O.S.T. “With
approximately 10,000 certified
instructors across the state who
can deliver training, it makes our
courses more readily accessible.”
Continuing education credits from
P.O.S.T. are offered for each course
taught by a certified instructor,
which helps employees of myriad
agencies and departments receive
professional development credit for
the training they receive.
Tim Reeve, a Field Coordinator
for Georgia Emergency
Management and Homeland
Security Agency, went through
the course nearly a decade ago,
but the adult learning skills he was
taught have helped him in all the
courses he’s brought to county
EMAs and various agencies. “We
do a lot of field delivery training,”
he said. “The course taught us to
teach, as well as develop training
programs based on objectives.”
According to Ed Westbrook,
GEMA/HS’s Training and Exercise
Program Manager, Reeve is one
of approximately 20 people within
the agency to have this certification.
“Our field and homeland security
coordinators are using this training
to deliver courses out in the field,”
said Westbrook. “They use it for
teaching safety in the schools,
planning and preparedness with the
county EMAs, and other trainings
that may be needed. What they can
offer really covers a lot of topics.”
Having the GEMA/HS field and
homeland security coordinators
provide teaching in the field is
a great benefit to GEMA/HS
and emergency management
operations across the state, but,
according to Westbrook, it’s not the
biggest benefit. “This certification
means we are teaching at the
highest standard in the state of
Georgia. This puts our agency into
the profession of public safety and
allows us to teach alongside those
professionals.”
For Claude Craig, Whitfield
County EMA Director, having
instructors provide training in his
county eliminates the expense and
travel burden for his employees.
It also helps key emergency
management personnel take the
courses together.
“We can host a class with our
fire department, po