4 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(11/15/13 5:16am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Hidden between the piles of papers and reports, Laury Flint’s new IU Police Department Chief badge laid on her desk. She’s already accepted her role as police chief, but her new badge is still in its packaging, and her deputy badge remains pinned to her uniform. It didn’t feel quite right to wear the chief’s badge, Flint said. It’s not about the title — she’s already been doing the job for the past eight months.IU Director of Public Safety Jerry Minger and Provost Lauren Robel announced the appointment of Laury Flint as campus police chief Monday. As the new chief, Flint oversees all law enforcement on campus, a position she officially began serving on Nov. 1. “We are extremely fortunate to have a person like Laury ready to step into a position so critical to the safety of the IUB campus,” Minger said in a press release.In her eight months as interim police chief, Flint has handled two student deaths, a campus-wide alert following a knife fight and a student strike. Prior to being appointed police chief, Flint served as Deputy Chief of Police to the late Chief Keith Cash. In March, Cash died of a heart defect, and Flint was next in line to fill his place. She assumed the role of interim police chief. Although her duties and responsibilities didn’t change much, she became the face of IUPD, the mediator between law enforcement and departments across campus. For years, she had worked with Cash, but she now had to take on his role as well as her own. She and Cash had a great working relationship, Flint said. They complemented each other — he was the thinker and she was the doer.“He liked to do all of the press releases and be in front of the media, and he was good at that,” she said. “I was more the doer. I deal with the public on a little more of a personal level.”* * *Flint knew from a young age that she wanted to become a police officer. “I think it was probably around eight years old that I decided this is what I wanted to do,” Flint said. She said her parents did not necessarily want her to go into law enforcement because of the dangerous nature of the field. “I was their little girl,” Flint said. “Police work was not necessarily something they wanted to see me get into.”Her parents sent her to the Indiana State Police summer career camp when she was in high school, hoping it would dissuade her from pursing a career in law enforcement.“They wake you up in the middle of the night with sirens going,” Flint said. “My parents thought that if I went to this that it might change my mind, but it just reinforced that this was something that I wanted to do.”Flint attended IU in the fall of 1978 and has been here ever since. She majored in criminal justice. During her time as a student, Flint worked as a part-time officer for IUPD and was offered a full-time position in January of 1982. Flint said she had not considered working at IUPD full-time before she was offered the position. “This was something I thought was going to be a stepping stone,” she said. As she began her career in law enforcement, Flint anticipated she might have a harder time proving herself than a man in the same position. “I think people were watching me closely to see how I would react to situations,” Flint said. “I was eventually just treated like one of the guys.” The first promotion Flint applied for was a lieutenant’s position with IUPD, even though a sergeant’s position would have been her natural next step.Flint said she applied for a lieutenant’s position because she did not feel comfortable being the immediate supervisor to the people she had worked with for 20 years. She said she was told to apply for the sergeant’s position as well. “They did end up offering me a sergeant’s position,” Flint said. “I joke that I was sergeant for a day.” At the same time IUPD offered her the sergeant’s position, Tom Lee, now a captain, was promoted to lieutenant.IUPD temporarily assigned Flint to Lee’s position when he left soon after his promotion to serve in Iraq, and when he returned there was another lieutenant position open for Flint to assume permanently.Flint remained a lieutenant at IUPD until Cash became police chief in 2010. “There was a lot of change when Keith took chief, so I kind of skipped over the captain’s position and took the deputy chief position,” Flint said. “It is just sort of the way it worked out.”* * *Part of her responsibility now as chief is to work with university departments that deal directly with students and enforce disciplinary action or intervention. “Even if discretion says a person doesn’t need to be arrested or taken to jail for what they have done, we have the additional benefit of being able to take it to the Dean of Students, and he can determine if this person needs University punishment,” she said.Flint said she does not think students realize how much people care about them behind the scenes. “I think I was a little idealistic when I started this job and probably a little naïve, and some of the times you have to help people that don’t want to be helped,” she said.Mark Bruhn, IU associate vice president for public safety and institutional assurance, said he thinks Flint will fulfill her responsibilities well.“Along with Laury’s experience, knowledge and expertise in public safety and management, she has the mindset necessary to act and react in a university environment which presents unique challenges,” Bruhn said in a press release.Flint said the beauty of her job is that she never knows what is going to happen next. She said it is 99 percent routine. “That one percent is what keeps you going to the next time,” she said.* * *Just this year, Flint and IUPD have experienced a multitude of high-profile incidents. She said the death of freshman Rachael Fiege, for example, was a heartbreaking situation, but it also raised awareness of amnesty programs like the Lifeline Law. “When Rachael Fiege died there was an awful lot of news coverage,” Flint said. “I’ve seen a lot more people stepping up if they think that someone is in trouble and calling (911), even if they’ve been doing something that they shouldn’t have been doing, too.”Most recently, Flint was responsible for responding to a knife-fight which left an armed man at large on campus. She said determining who exactly was in danger and sorting through witness information was the most difficult part of the situation.Flint said the IU Protect website, which provides updated information on emergency situations at IU, crashed due to increased web traffic. This led to an overflow of phone calls to IUPD from concerned parents, who were also alerted of the incident.In the future, Flint said, she hopes to make clear to concerned individuals that IUPD will update the public as information is made available. “We had an after action review and discussed what went well and what needs to be improved for next time,” Flint said. “We want to make sure that the information we put out is as accurate as it can be with the information that we have at the time.”In the near future, Flint hopes to clearly define the roles and job responsibilities for her officers. “I want to get people in place first and get responsibilities lined out, then we’ll start working on the big picture,” Flint said. “I just want this to be a place that people are proud of.”Although Flint is not wearing her badge immediately after being named chief, she said she also wasn’t wearing the badge for the past eight months when she was doing the same job. “It’s not about the title,” she said. “It is about the work I think that we do here, all of us.”Follow reporter Rachel Rapp on Twitter @rachrapp517.
(10/28/13 3:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The cadets could hear them, but they couldn’t see them. The “birds” hummed in the distance as they approached the grassy landing zone. Cadets stood ready, adjusting their rucksacks and ear protection, looking to the sky to catch the first glimpse of the Black Hawk helicopters they would soon ride for the first time.The Black Hawk aircraft orientation Friday morning was the first in a series of weekend training events for IU Army ROTC cadets. The Field Training Exercises, conducted by ROTC once each semester, provide cadets an opportunity to apply the skills they have learned and participate in an in-depth and focused training experience, senior and cadet Ben Krebs said.ROTC members would usually spend the FTX weekend training at Camp Atterbury near Edinburgh, Ind., but because of the federal shutdown, the training was moved to IU’s cross country fields and Bloomington Police Department shooting range. The sound of the propellers became louder on the cross country course, and the gusts of wind became more powerful. Just above the trees, three Black Hawks appeared and in seconds floated down to the landing zone. The cadets took 15-minute flights in three helicopters over Bloomington and back to the landing zone at the cross country course. Members of the Indiana National Guard 1-137 Combat Aviation Brigade, who were also in training, flew the Black Hawk helicopters. The cadets were assigned to “chalks,” or groups, and oriented with basic safety before boarding the helicopters. As the groups approached the Black Hawks, the pilot told each cadet to keep one hand on the shoulder of the cadet in front of them for safety purposes. It was sophomore Nick Walker’s first time in a Black Hawk helicopter, he said. The aircraft orientation was a new experience for many of the first- and second-year cadets. Cadet Nathan Eubanks, a sophomore, said it was a smooth ride and not as loud as he expected. “It was nice seeing Bloomington from the air,” Eubanks said. The three-day training weekend is run by senior cadets and supervised by the cadre, which are the military instructors. All cadets undergo the first day of training together, but then are separated based on year.The freshman cadets focus on team-building exercises, while the juniors are evaluated on their leadership skills, Krebs said. Following the aircraft orientation, first- and second-year cadets participated in a Field Leadership Reaction Course, which tests response strategies and tactical skills. The FLRC was also a chance to build leadership skills, cadet and sophomore Jack Sprinkle said. “A cadet will be put in a leadership position, and they’re going to have to make decisions,” Sprinkle said. “It is a lot of team building and realizing what you need to do as a leader.”Third-year cadets and the ROTC Ranger Challenge team participated in training exercises at the Bloomington Police Department shooting range. Cadet Tyler Sykes is a junior and member of the Ranger Challenge Team. “We’re conducting basic marksmanship training to familiarize ourselves and become proficient with the military standard rifle, which is a M16 or an M4,” Sykes said.The Ranger Challenge Team is training to represent the IU Army ROTC program at the Bold Warrior Challenge, a regional ROTC competition with a national qualifier in November. Other FTX weekend events included tactical training, referred to as Situational Training Exercises, land navigation training and paintball, Krebs said. Cadet and sophomore Sam Sittler said ROTC events like the FTX have not only helped his training skills, but have also helped him create new friendships. “It’s a lot of fun,” Sittler said. “It’s kind of tough sometimes, but you look back on it and all you remember are the good parts.” Follow reporter Rachel Rapp on Twitter @rachrapp517.
(10/25/13 3:49am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU Army ROTC has recently worked with the IU Athletics Department,
allowing the ROTC Ranger Challenge team access to the workout facilities
at the north endzone of Memorial Stadium. The new relationship
between IU Athletics and IU Army ROTC serves to bridge the gap between
the two departments, ROTC representatives said. ROTC cadets are selected for the team through a rigorous tryout process. The
team represents the IU Army ROTC program at the Bold Warrior Challenge,
a regional ROTC competition with a national qualifier. The Ranger Challenge team is gaining more recognition from the athletics department as a competitive sports team. The
team currently receives varsity letters, and IUSA has voted for
priority enrollment for cadets — a privilege already common to other
collegiate athletes, ROTC representatives said. Tucker Warner,
junior and Ranger Challenge team captain, said the use of the athletics
department facilities has increased team morale and overall physical
strength. “I am extremely humbled by the recognition that we
have been given by the athletic department as an athletics team,” Warner
said. “IU ROTC has been developing Army officers — warrior leaders —
for many years now, and this partnership with the athletic department
has given us the opportunity to train our cadets better and improve the
United States Army.”Brady Singleton, lecturer and tactical
strength and conditioning coach, serves as a liaison between the School
of Public Health, the IU Athletics Department and IU Army ROTC. He
said because the team was awarded varsity letters, people on campus are
able to recognize the Ranger Challenge team is comparable to an
athletics team and deserves a similar level of a credibility.“The
cadets have an ability level very comparable to a collegiate athlete of
similar body weight,” Singleton said. “They’ve not had any formal
experience in the weight room before, so my job at this point is
teaching them the mechanics of the movements so we can then train them
more intensely.” Warner said he had always wanted to be a Big
Ten athlete, but his calling to lead soldiers outweighed that. He
credits Lt. Col. Tim Hoch, ROTC’s commander, for facilitating a smooth
transition for him to team captain and for all of his team’s training.Warner
said Hoch plays an active role in their readiness to compete and
sometimes exercises with the team, “which increases team morale and
motivation tenfold.”Singleton is currently working with the
cadets to help prepare them for the upcoming Seventh Brigade Bold
Warrior Challenge in Louisville, Ky.“The Bold Warrior Challenge
is a simulation of what someone may see on deployment or in a mission,”
Singleton said. “There are cognitive processes involved, and it is also
very physically rigorous.”The regional competition tests
mission-readiness Singleton said. This year, 38 schools will be
competing, and the winning team will go on to compete in a national
competition.Singleton brings to his position experience in collegiate coaching and in preparing U.S. military personnel for deployment. He
served as a collegiate strength and conditioning coach and then as a
field readiness instructor for active duty military personnel before
coming to IU. He is also the first full-time tactical strength and conditioning coach in the Big Ten.The
relationship between ROTC and athletics began during former professor
of military science LTC Michael Ogden’s term as ROTC commander, Warner
said. However, the official partnership started just a month
ago and was facilitated by Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach
Chris Virtue, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for Olympic Sports
Mark Wateska and Master Sergeant Wilson, senior military instructor and
facilitator for all ranger challenge training. Singleton said the mental acuteness and physical strength of the cadets are both high as they prepare for the challenge. “They
do what’s asked, they train intensely and they never complain, which is
all I can ask,” Singleton said. “Our hope would be to continue this
relationship with athletics in order to continue to facilitate this
training, possibly even on a larger scale.”Follow reporter Rachel Rapp on Twitter @Rachrapp517.
(09/12/13 3:44am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Lt. Col. Tim Hoch was named the new commander of IU Army ROTC in June, bringing 21 years of army service experience to the program. He was commissioned from West Point in 1996 and went on to serve operational deployments overseas in Kuwait, command a heavy cavalry troop as a captain in Korea, and serve in Iraq as a combat adviser to the Iraqi army, among other assignments around the world.Hoch, whose full title is Commander and Professor of Military Science, said his background and the frequent change of duties throughout his career have prepared him for the transition to this three-year position. Hoch said he is already impressed by the academic and physical caliber of students in the ROTC program.“We’ve already got the bar set pretty high, I’m just pushing it a little bit higher,” Hoch said.He took over the role upon his predecessor Lt. Colonel Michael Ogden’s rotation completion as commander. Hoch said he feels welcomed by the IU community. Alumni have offered to return to help, he said, and academic programs have offered resources. Benjamin Krebs, IU senior and cadet battalion commander for the IU Army ROTC battalion, said his job is to take Hoch’s vision for the cadets and implement it. Krebs said IU Army ROTC cadets stand out because of the caliber of their leadership.“When we have cadre and leadership come in with that kind of experience and knowledge, that’s what makes the difference between a good program and a great program,” Krebs said. The IU Army ROTC program, which is run as both an academic department and an army unit, has consistently ranked among the top Army ROTC programs in the nation since it was started in 1840.Hoch said he aims to help the program remain one of the premier programs in the nation. He said he does not plan to make any significant changes to the program during his term.“I’m walking into a great situation,” Hoch said. “My predecessor, Mike Ogden, has done a tremendous job with the program, which has a well-established reputation.”Hoch credits the success of this program both to his predecessors and to the strength of its cadets.Krebs said he joined IU ROTC because he wanted to try something new and challenging.“At the end of four years when everyone else graduates and starts looking for a job, you know that you will commission as an officer in the United States Army and get to lead men and women,” Krebs said. Hoch said the cadets have chosen to develop themselves “personally and professionally, for probably the most challenging and rigorous profession that is out there.”He said this position at IU is a dream assignment.“I would like to leave this organization and this program stronger and better than I found it,” said Hoch. “Your legacy as a leader is how you impact future leaders.”Follow reporter Rachel Rapp on Twitter @Rachrapp517.