(Director’s Column, continued from page 6)
It is important to me as a leader to develop talent, focus on succession planning and bolster the morale of our committed employees. The importance of morale cannot be emphasized enough. If a person feels connected to an organization and valued, I believe they are more likely to plant roots, cultivate a solid work ethic and commit to a long-term career with that organization. As leaders, however, we must continue to look for ways to ensure our employees’ sacrifices and dedication are recognized and rewarded. One way we do that is through quarterly promotion ceremonies where we recognize employees and say thank you. We must never take the sacrifices of our law enforcement for granted. I recently had the great honor of introducing two new awards, which I believe are long overdue and are integral to a law enforcement organization – the Medal of Valor and Purple Heart awards. We created these awards this Spring to honor our heroes in law enforcement who faced lifethreatening situations in the course of their duties or who were critically wounded in the line of duty. Col. Oliver and I had the honor of bestowing the Medal of Valor on four most deserving recipients. All four of these men faced life-threatening situations that required them to display uncommon courage, lean heavily on their training and make sound decisions to preserve public safety. All of them did this admirably. The Purple Heart was awarded to two troopers whose lives were forever altered by serious motor vehicle collisions in the line of duty. As we go forward in this organization, I want to challenge our men and women to come to work every day with the Target Zero attitude of “I save lives.” For our retirees, I ask you to remember your days of standing where we stand and please continue to support us. We value your insight and partnership. And always, we simply could not do what we do without the unwavering support of community partners and those committed to the mission of our agency such as David Latimer and our supporters within the Troopers Association. Thank you for your continued partnership and for striving with us to create a safer South Carolina. I wish you all a safe and happy summer.
(Colonel’s Column, continued from page 7)
One was with regard to the trigger spring on the Glocks. We have transitioned from the 8 pound New York trigger spring to the 5 pound spring. We began doing that doing that during the 2012 in-service. Our Training Unit has reported to me that we are seeing a significantly lower number of qualifying failures as a result of this as well as improved proficiency. Our Firearms Policy was also revised late last year to allow the use of long rifles by all SCDPS officers who meet certain conditions. In the past, the long rifles had only been used by our specialty units such as the ACERT or ACE units. Officers will have the opportunity to use their own rifles if those meet our armorer’s specifications and then re-qualify each year with the rifle. Even small changes such as allowing troopers a longer optional period for uniforms makes a difference in morale. We made this change last year as well as relaxing the jacket policy. I think it has made our troopers more comfortable and is more in line with the reality of their day to day activity in the field. We have experienced many successes this past year in partnership with our friends at the State Transport Police, Law Enforcement Networks and our Office of Highway Safety and Justice Programs…making more than 26,000 DUI arrests last year; breaking records in safety belt use and improving in our national rankings when it comes to DUI deaths. I challenge each of our troopers not to rest on these accomplishments but use them as a springboard to breaking more of those records in 2013. We are off to a great start. Thank you to each of our men and women in uniform, Telecommunications personnel and civilian staff who make the Highway Patrol shine every day. It is an honor to serve with you. .
IN MEMORIAM
Peggy W. McDonald who passed away on June 24, 2012.
LT Larry G. Elliott who passed away on December 21, 2012.
Martha T. Altman who passed away on August 24, 2012.
LT Grady Jones, Jr., who passed away on December 23, 2012.
Shirley W. Biggers who passed away on August 9, 2012.
Trannie R. Cockrell who passed away on January 6, 2013.
LT Clarence A. “Shug” Ellis who passed away on November 3, 2012.
CPT Samuel C. Reighley who passed away on March 21, 2013.
SGT John D. Park, Jr., who passed away on December 7, 2012.
L/CPL Paul Ramsing who passed away March 23, 2013.
SGT C.R. Nichols, who passed away on April 11, 2013. 11 South Carolina Trooper