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recognition: ribbons, pins, honors, etc.; and 7) reminders that one isn't being asked to do this forever, just for a year or two or three. Again, one would hope that a serious, face-to-face, "your country needs you" recruiting effort (appeal to duty and honor) by the Chief or Sheriff or other well-respected leader might do the job. "Joe/Jane, only a very few of our very best people have the right stuff to do the most important job in law enforcement. Only a very few can be entrusted with this. I know this isn't your frst choice of things to do, but I also know you will suck it up and do this well. You've never failed us before and you certainly aren't going to do so just because we've awarded you the most important job we've got. You won't be asked to do this forever, only for a couple years, but I will remember your service during this time and I will honor your devotion to duty in every way I can down the road. "Congratulations, you're our next Field Training Offcer. Here's your FTO service ribbon. A year from now we expect to put a silver star on it for your excellent work. One year later, we hope to honor you by placing a gold star on it, and you will wear it proudly for the rest of your career, even if at that point you choose not to serve longer as an FTO. Now, go and do good." It is both interesting and sad to note how many leaders have never considered this kind of talk and seem to be completely willing to live with under-qualifed FTOs either because "our veteran offcers don't want to be FTOs" or "our veteran offcers are all in special assignments. Field Training Offcer should of course be a special assignment. In many agencies, it is time to start over in staffng the feld training function by creating a mostly newly selected elite cadre of FTOs who actually have the right stuff. And it will be hard indeed to convince a veteran offcer that he/she is part of an elite corps when a person he/she is forming up with is a one- to two-year offcer. It may be necessary to be regressive here, to look backward in time and remember the way all this once was. Consider this conversation: The two-year "want-to-be" looks at you incredulously and asks, "So, you would rather have a mediocre veteran than a hard-charging two-year guy?" You give no answer. He says, "Well?" You say, "It's a hard question. I need to think about it." If the only choice an agency has is between two underqualifed people, then the better of the bad choices should be picked. If there are other ways these dynamics could be approached, consideration should be given to those other ways to do this most important business. All of the most important things depend on it. LaO Post your comments on this story by visiting www.lawandordermag.com Click on EInfo at - www.lawandordermag.com reader service #12 www.lawandordermag.com 17