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'I walked out of that place feeling nine feet tall' Yellowknife youth spends week at RCMP Depot training centre
Daniel Campbell
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, August 28, 2013
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The life of a cop isn't for everyone, but one young Yellowknifer found out recently it might be the life she's looking for.
Olivia Ferrier, 19, fights through the pain during fitness training at the RCMP "Depot" youth training camp. She spent a week with 32 youth from across the Prairies and Northwest Territories learning what kind of training police officers go through. - Photo courtesy of Olivia Ferrier |
Nineteen-year-old Olivia Ferrier spent a week at the RCMP's "Depot" training centre in Regina, undergoing an intense week-long youth camp, from Aug. 12 to 16.
Ferrier, who graduated from Sir John Franklin High School in June, said she's always been interested in policing, but went into the program not knowing what to expect. She saw a recruitment poster for the camp at her school, she applied, went through an interview process and was accepted.
Hundreds of youth, aged 16 to 19, from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories applied for the program. Of those only 32 were chosen to attend camp.
Ferrier was one of only two picked from the Northwest Territories.
"I'm very proud, I was honoured to do it," Ferrier said.
She's a fitness enthusiast, but Ferrier said even she was challenged by the Depot's standards. From 6:30 a.m. until the end of their training day at 4:30 p.m., the members of the cadet troop were forced to haul 14-kilogram bags everywhere they went—and they'd have to travel at double-time (a quick trot).
Their days were split between classroom work and fitness training. Ferrier said the combination of long days and exercise pushed her to the edge.
"When you were sitting during class you could feel your eyes start to roll back, that's when they made you stand at the back of the room."
After hours of trying to stay awake in class, the youth would move on to fitness training. Ferrier was given no quarter, but she never gave up.
"Sometimes I didn't know if I could do this last pushup, but that's where the self-discipline comes in."
The youth were often given pushups as punishment for mistakes, especially during their drill classes. Learning how to march in formation was hard for her and her troop, especially at the beginning.
"We did 80 pushups in one sitting," Ferrier said, with a hint of exhaustion in her voice.
Ferrier said she's never been more scared then when she first saw her drill instructor.
"He came in with his cane and big boots and would be yelling at you only three inches from your face."
The long drill sessions took their physical toll on Ferrier.
"There's a lot of standing, your heels feel like they're about to shatter."
But despite the hardships, Ferrier feels a certain sense of pride for making it through the demanding week.
"I walked out of that place feeling nine feet tall."
The youth were taught about polygraph tests, RCMP drug units, SWAT teams and the interview process for joining the RCMP.
They also conducted self-defence classes, where Ferrier learned how to take down criminals and use pressure points.
One of the most profound things Ferrier noticed was the teamwork. The youth were made to do everything as a group. When injuries began to take their toll the group stuck together, making sure all 32 made it to the end of the week.
From twisted ankles to busted knees, fainting spells and charlie horses, Ferrier said they made it through with, simply, "blood, sweat and tears."
"Seeing what (RCMP cadets) go through for six months, my respect is way higher. The training they go through is nowhere near ordinary."
She was first turned on to the Mounties by her two uncles, who are long-time RCMP officers. But her family's background in policing earned Ferrier a little more than she bargained for at the youth camp.
She remembers standing in formation at the end of the program. Ferrier's fitness trainer called out to her.
"He said, 'Ferrier, where are you?" she remembers.
Ferriers muscles were vibrating with exhaustion, she could barely move her arms. Her whole troop watched as she was singled out.
"And he made me do twenty push-ups," Ferrier said. "Then he said, 'that's for all the pushups your uncle made me do.'"
Ferrier's uncle, an RCMP officer in Montreal, had been a fitness trainer for Ferrier's trainer at the Depot years ago.
"My uncle had a good laugh when I told him," Ferrier said, smiling.
Ferrier hopes to one day join the RCMP. She's going to attend school in Grand Prairie, Alta., for Fitness Leadership, then travel, but she expects to apply within four to five years.
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