Hello everyone,
I just wanted to begin with a brief history. Steph and I met in Kabul, Afghansitan in May, 2008. As luck would have it, I left for vacation and when I returned, Steph had been assigned to work on the same camp I was assigned to. Even better, she was assigned to the room right next door to me. As a result, she and I are the best of friends. (Hi BFF :-) ) Steph was a Firearms Advisor and I was on the Family Response Unit (FRU) team. On a daily basis, Steph and her team would take approximately 30 Afghan police recruits to the firing range. They taught the Afghan firearms instructors how to teach firearms safety, weapon maintenance, and sight picture and sight alignment. Along with all of this, they got each recruit qualified to carry their weapon.
The F.R.U. was involved with mentoring female Afghan Police in the area of domestic violence. We taught them how to investigate reported cases, gather evidence, and take crime scene or evidence photos and how to properly prepare a report.
Well after a short time Steph told me about this great organization called the IAWP. Not only did she tell me about it but she convinced me to become a member. In 2009 I went to my first conference in Seattle, WA. This definitely was not Steph’s first conference but she attended as well. She and I met some of the most amazing people and she got to reconnect with some that she already knew from past conferences.
In August 2011, we both attended the conference in Lexington, KY. WOW!!!! What a great time. Steph had flown in from overseas and I from Arkansas. Once again, we got to meet some awesome people and reconnect with some that we had met at previous conferences. This conference was great. The first day was actually my birthday. There was lots of fun to be had and we definitely had some. The comedian, Etta May was absolutely hilarious. Wasn’t she Shanda? Lol. The classes were great and everyone in Kentucky was very hospitable. I am hoping to be in St. Johns this year.
I will be posting a few pics shortly.
Tina