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Over the weekend of September 10th and 11th, the Orange County Law Enforcement Explorer Advisor Association (OCLEEAA) hosted its second annual Explorer Competition at the Sheriff's Katella Training Facility. Forty-one 4-person teams, from agencies throughout Orange and Los Angeles counties, participated in this event. Orange County Sheriff's Department Explorer Post 449 fielded eight teams, who took a very impressive 1st place, 2nd place, two 3rd place, three 4th place and one 5th place trophies in team events. Although all of the participants deserve recognition for their efforts, as they represented our agency proudly, special congratulations go out to the following explorers for a job well done.

Team Events:

• 1st place - Tubular Assault: Explorers Matt Padilla, Andrew Gulling, Francisco Aponte and Alan Cleveland (South Division)

• 2nd place - Traffic Collision: Explorers Todd Smith, Yanira Rojo, Nick Rothenham, Allison Tornow and Steven Pipkin (West Division)

• 3rd place - Force Option: Explorers Carl Dossland, Ruben Herrera, Mario Garcia, Jose Preciado and Koosha Rashidian (Tri-Cities Division).

• 3rd place - D.U.I. Stops: Explorers Carl Dossland, Ruben Herrera, Mario Garcia, Jose Preciado and Koosha Rashidian (Tri-Cities Division).

• 4th place - Disabled Vehicle: Explorers Erik Schinsky, Cameron Newett, Tyler Wolk and Alex Brown (Harbor Division)

• 4th place - Force Option: Explorers Jon Larson, Miguel Muro, Blanca Guerrero and Dan Grijalva (North Division).

• 4th place - Hostage Negotiations: Explorers Mike Grijalva, Tom Perkins, Nick Harms and Jon Bron (Lake Forest Division)

• 5th place - Force Option: Explorers Mike Grijalva, Tom Perkins, Nick Harms and Jon Bron (Lake Forest Division)

Explorer Post #449 would like to thank the following Explorers who acted in the scenarios: Koosha Rashidian, Derin Stevens, Chris Russell, Nick Turtenwald, Kurt Lazzara, Paul Coleman, Jake Montez, Richard Shoopman, Jose Garcia, Chris Baeumler and Kevin Daniels.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department sponsored the Force Option Scenario and Tubular Assault Scenario and co-sponsored the D.U.I. Stops. Thank you to Sgt. Bob Osborne (D.U.I. Stops), Deputies John Gomez and Chris Ledbetter (Tubular Assault) and Deputies J.W. Davis, Sherri Gilman, Dave Hartman and Joe Warner (Force Option) for an outstanding job coordinating these scenarios.

Explorer Post # 449 would like to thank Sergeant Paul Fuzzard from OCTA for arranging an OCTA bus to be used for the Tubular Assault Scenario on both days of the competition.

We would also like to thank Sergeant Randy Sterett and Investigator Keith Prinzing from Hazardous Devices for putting on an excellent Hazardous Devices Demonstration to all the Explorers at the competition.

We especially thank Captain Dan Martini, Sergeant Tom Giffin, Deputies Dave Hartman and Joe Warner from the Training Division. This competition would not have been possible without the use of the Katella Training Facility and certainly would not have been the success that it was without the patience, expertise and leadership of these individuals from the Training Division's team. They not only opened their facility to OCLEEAA, they generously assisted in the coordination of the scenarios and the overall operation. The Explorer Post and its staff sincerely appreciate all that you did to assist us in this endeavor.

Explorer Post 449 would like to thank the following Sheriff's personnel for their assistance with staffing, funding, training and equipment needed for the competition:

Assistant Sheriff Peter Gannon - Operations
Captain Bob Blackburn - South Operations
Lieutenant Ron White - Explorer Director and Chief of Police Services/RSM
Lieutenant Mark Billings - Chief of Police Services/Dana Point
Senior Office Supervisor Sandy Trujillo - South Operations
Patrol Office Supervisor Carol Rinderknecht - South Operations
Dispatch Supervisor Karen Daly (ECB)