Appomattox Co., VA -The newest group of Virginia State Police got the keys to their cars Monday.
Sergeants say they've had quite a few vacancies for a while, and now they're looking forward to having some help on the road.
After 34 weeks of training, the latest crew of Virginia's finest suited up and set out to their new assignments.
"We've been working short for a really long time, and we're happy to have them here," said Capt. Paul Kvasnicka, with the state police department.
"This will definitely relieve a burden," said First Sgt. James Hopkins.
Division 3 has 26 vacancies.
"People retire, we lose people through attrition or they go to other agencies," said Hopkins.
The batch of 14 will fill a little more than half of those spots. Hopkins says they were feeling the pinch in Campbell County.
"Troopers were working by themselves a lot and not able to get time off when they needed it because we were so short-handed. So this is a relief for us and them."
Four of those men joined the force in Campbell County.
Jared Staton, 22, is from Forest. He and his fellow grads underwent nearly 2,000 hours of classroom and field instruction.
"It was tough. It's definitely the hardest experience of my life. But there's a big sense of accomplishment coming out of it," said Staton.
Thomas Sica is a graduate of Liberty University.
"It feels good to finally be out on the road," he said.
"They all seem very happy to be here, and graduating from the academy is a big step. We look forward to them completing their training and getting out there on their own, to go out and enforce the law," said Capt. Paul Kvasnicka.
The final phase of training will be 6 to 8 weeks in the field with a current officer. Then, they'll be out on their own.
