The Auxiliary's first Weapon's Retention class was held today at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Mount Vernon. Volunteers spent the morning learning about firearm safety in the home, in vehicles, and when carrying on the street. They got time to practice trying to disarm each other and protect their weapons from being taken by an attacker. Whether or not we wear uniforms, if we own or carry weapons, we have an ethical responsibility to not let bad guys get them from us. Today's class was one of the ways in which the Sheriff's Office makes sure that its volunteers can handle weapons safely and responsibly.

Because the Lawrence County Sheriff's Auxiliary is a one-of-a-kind program, it has spent much of its first two and a half years of existence developing training standards, writing course materials, obtaining instructors, and qualifying volunteers. The teaching of today's Weapons Retention class and the first run of the Constitution, Law, and the Auxiliary II class on Monday represents a significant milestone in provisioning the last of the instruction required for all volunteers. Over the next few years, we will continue fleshing out the training for specialties within the Auxiliary, including for Chaplains and Chaplains Assistants, more communications courses, advanced tactical training electives, intelligence analysis and so forth in order to expand the range of ways we can be of service to the community.