Source: US FBI
The physical fitness training, while a typical part of law enforcement jobs, challenges attendees to get back to basics to ensure they can continue to fulfill duties that aren’t solely behind a desk.
“A lot of times when you advance in law enforcement, your job becomes a little more sedentary, so we’re just showing them ways to get out of their seat, move around dynamically,” said FBI Training Division instructor Kevin Chimento.
Chimento explained that speed, agility, power, muscular endurance, muscular strength, and anaerobic and aerobic ability exercises are essential parts of the physical fitness training. These attributes are necessary to pass the final test of the fitness challenge—the Yellow Brick Road, a grueling 6.1-mile run through a wooded trail. Built by the U.S. Marines, the course requires climbing over walls, running through creeks, jumping through simulated windows, and more.
Graduates who complete this difficult test receive an actual yellow brick emblazoned with their session number to memorialize their achievement.
Academic classes for the National Academy, accredited by the University of Virginia, have changed in name and curriculum over the years, but the ability to learn from peers through dynamic discussions about the ever-changing challenges faced by law enforcement leaders remains consistent.
Topics for the academic classes in 2025 range from Critical Incident Leadership to Forensic Science for Police Executives, allowing attendees to learn from one another through robust discussions and case analyses, highlighting the diverse perspectives of each member of the class.
“To hear how other parts of the country operate in certain situations—and some in other parts of the world, even, if you get an international student—that was a real eye-opening experience,” said South Hackensack, New Jersey, Sgt. James Donatello. “Those were some of my best days, when we would all kind of discuss a case or maybe an internal issue with an officer, and how the same incident that might be happening in New Jersey might be handled differently in the Midwest or in the South or on the West Coast.”