Virginia State Police welcomes 59 new troopers to the ranks

The Virginia State Police marked the 130th generation of Virginia State Troopers on Friday.

The 59 new troopers were presented their diplomas during commencement exercises at the State Police Training Academy in North Chesterfield County.

The new troopers have received more than 1,300 hours of classroom and field instruction in more than 100 different subjects, including defensive tactics, crime scene investigation, ethics and leadership, survival Spanish, police professionalism, firearms, judicial procedures, officer survival, cultural diversity and crisis management.

The members of the 130th Basic Session began their 29 weeks of academic, physical and practical training at the Academy March 20.

The graduates of the 130th Basic Session are from every corner of the Commonwealth, as well as Alabama, Indiana, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

The new troopers will report to their individual duty assignments across Virginia the week of Oct. 7. For their final phase of training, each trooper will spend an additional six weeks paired up with a Field Training Officer learning his or her new patrol area.