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Anonymous ID: 320741 Aug. 27, 2024, 7:30 p.m. No.21493324   🗄️.is đź”—kun

>>21493234

The National Academy has come a long way since 1935, when the first group of 23 students attended what was then known as “FBI Police Training School.” From those humble beginnings, the National Academy network has grown to nearly 46,000 members strong, representing 177 countries. Think about that—nearly 46,000 Yellow Bricks sit on desks and bookcases throughout the world. That is a line of bricks nearly as long as the Yellow Brick Road itself.

 

Those bricks are powerful symbols of your experiences at the National Academy, and of the challenges you overcame together. Yet they also represent a continuing challenge—a challenge to remain connected and committed to one another. How many times have you been in your office and had a visitor notice your Yellow Brick—and you find that you immediately share a bond with that person? Those Yellow Bricks mean that you stand in solidarity with each other.

 

    • *

 

On Saturday, many of you took the opportunity to visit the John F. Kennedy Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas. In 1963, President Kennedy passed Dealey Plaza on his way to give a speech—words that were never delivered. Yet these words carry a legacy for those of us in law enforcement.

 

Referring to the Cold War, President Kennedy was to say the following: “We in this country, in this generation, are—by destiny rather than choice—the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility…”

 

Today, you and your colleagues back home—here in the United States and around the globe—have chosen to be the watchmen on the walls of our freedom. You have chosen to serve your communities—to wear your badges and patrol the streets, keeping your fellow citizens safe. You are—each of you—worthy of that power and responsibility. Fortunately, you do not bear that burden on your own. The partnerships—indeed, the friendships—you formed through the National Academy, ensure that you never need to face a challenge alone.

 

We in the Bureau are proud to be your partners. My thanks for all you do for law enforcement, and for the FBI. Thanks again for having me today, and God bless.