By Darrell Halen
Staff Writer

A cadet, wearing body armor and a paintball mask, confronts a stranger during a training exercise known as a simunition. A real-life police officer, standing in the back, evaluated the cadet’s performance. (The Hooksett Banner/Darrell Halen)

One day, Concord’s Jennifer Varney was firing bullets at a shooting range target. The next day, she was helping figure out who had stabbed a woman.

It was part of the week Varney, 18, spent at the New Hampshire Police Cadet Training Academy. It’s a rigorous program that gave Varney, who wants to be a police officer, and other young people, a look at law enforcement work.

From June 24 to 30, nearly 80 cadets went through the program. Many participants said it helped them develop motivation, determination, teamwork and self-discipline.

“It gives you self-respect you don’t get anywhere else,” Varney said.

The annual program, hosted at Hesser College in Manchester, consists of three groups: the Basic Academy for first-year cadets, the Advanced Academy for students who return for a second year, and the Leadership Academy for third-year cadets.

The paramilitary academies, each with its own curriculum, are offered by the New Hampshire Chiefs of Police, the New Hampshire Police Association and the Exploring Division of the Daniel Webster Council.

The academy is strict and the days spent there are chock full of instruction, physical activity and team-building exercises. Cadets learn from experts in their fields.

“It’s something I’ve never experienced before,” said Dannelle Warwick, 17, of Dunbarton.

During the week, Warwick and other cadets marched in formation, “squared” their corners, were told when they could talk, and were required to address their superiors with “sir” or “ma’am.”

“You have to pay attention,” said Bedford’s Travis LaRue, 14. “You can’t goof off. You have to stand at attention and not look around.”

Rules are strictly enforced and punishments ­ often pushups ­ is the price to be paid for doing something wrong.

Rooms must be kept spotless and neat and are picked apart during inspections. Jeffrey Clark, 16, of Hooksett, discovered his bed was stripped of its sheets one day because he didn’t make his bed to academy standard.

Clark said he found it challenging to follow all the rules and to do the tasks required. But once he got past the first couple of days and remembered the rules, he said, his supervisors were much nicer.

Every morning begins early with a run and other physical training. Shirts become wet with sweat. Some cadets grimace while enduring the toughest exercises.

For Clark, performing leg raises while lying on his back was challenging.

Several cadets described the program as very educational. Clark, a first-year cadet, learned about a myriad of law enforcement topics, including radar, accident investigations, self-defense techniques, crime scene investigations and more.

“Some things I knew a little about, I now know a lot about,” said Clark, who found the class in firearms particularly interesting.

The education the cadets receive isn’t confined to classrooms. One afternoon, Gofftown’s John Buttrick, 17, and other third-year cadets each went through a training exercise known as a “simunition.”

Dressed in body armor and a paintball mask and carrying a gun that shoots paint bullets, Buttrick, acting as a police officer, underwent two realistic scenarios to see how he would react. His actions were observed and critiqued.

Varney and other cadets used the crime-solving knowledge they had acquired ­ securing a crime scene, interviewing suspects and collecting evidence ­ as they investigated a fictional homicide.

For some cadets, the academy is an experience they have never before encountered. Their days are regimented. Superiors give them orders. They are living away from their family and the comforts of home. They are disciplined in front of others.

Some eyes water with tears. Some kids get homesick.

But as they work closer to graduation, the cadets have fun and make friends. They push themselves and discover what they can accomplish.

Warwick discovered she could do more pushups as the week went on.

Cadets typically bond with the officer who serves as their squad advisor. One cadet told Goffstown Police Sgt. Pierre Pouliot, his Basic Academy squad advisor, that he had become a father figure to him.

Buttrick said completing the program gives him a feeling of accomplishment. Buttrick, a leadership cadet, said he felt he would have missed something if hadn’t returned for his third year.

Through the program, he said, he’s learned alot about law enforcement and he thinks it’s given him a good idea of what the state’s police academy will be like.

“It’s hard but you come out as a better person,” Buttrick said.

Pouliot and other police officers involved in the program said the skills cadets take from the program will help them in life, even if they don’t pursue a career in law enforcement.