On the weekend of March 14, 15, and 16, 2008, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Explorer Post 449 sent a team of 10 Explorers and three Advisors to the Imperial Valley Explorer Competition, held in El Centro, CA. The competition was hosted by the Calexico PD, Imperial County Sheriff’s Department, and the US Border Patrol.
Post 449 competed in thirteen events and took honors in the following:
Marijuana Field Raid DUI Scenario – 1st Place
Tubular Assault – 2nd Place Tug-o-war
5150 Scenario Felony Stops
Building Search – 4th Place 5K Run
Active Shooter Scenario – 2nd Place Obstacle Course – 4th Place
Tactical Shoot – 2nd Place Volleyball
Bicycle Course
Best Overall - OCSD Post 449 – 1st PLACE
These events are designed to be challenging. Each Post is graded on officer safety, awareness, ability, firearm discipline, light discipline, and most of all, teamwork. But at the end of the day the most important goal was to have FUN! The following Explorers represented our Department with the utmost integrity:
Mike Grijalva (Lake Forest) Simona Popsecu (Mission Viejo)
Grant Latimore (South) Nick Walsh (South)
Melissa Borjas (North) Rachel Rodriguez (North)
Lorenzo Corona (West) Eddie Pena (West)
Melissa Gorfu (West) Alex Bollman (Tri-cities) [more]
Many thanks are extended to the dedicated Advisors: Deputy John Gomez (South Division), Deputy Jason McLennan (South Division), and Dispatch Supervisor Karen Daly for their patience and support.
Also Post 449 would like to thank the following Department entities for making the trip possible:
Assistant Sheriff Jack Anderson
Captain Brian Wilkerson - CSD
Captain Dave Wilson - CSD
Captain Kathy Zurn – Training
Lt. Tom Slayton - CSD
Deputy Chris Ledbetter - SWAT
Deputy Mike Perez – SWAT
Deputy Doug Earl – SWAT
Deputy Joe Warner - Training
Betsy Mitchell – Training
Ken Merrell – Training
Kathy Hayes – Financial