{"id":47718,"date":"2025-07-08T04:01:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T04:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/47718\/"},"modified":"2025-07-08T04:01:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T04:01:12","slug":"pennsylvania-state-police-troop-k-camp-cadet-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/47718\/","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania State Police Troop K Camp Cadet"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Monday there wasn\u2019t a cellphone or a preoccupied young person to be seen as more than 55 cadets from across Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties are spending this week learning the ways of law enforcement at the Pennsylvania State Police Troop K Camp Cadet<\/a> held at Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, young people ranging in age from 11 to 14 arrived at Valley Forge to get a better understanding of law enforcement as they learn police training as well as self-discipline, making new friends and working as a team. The cellphones and electronics stayed home.<\/p>\n

\u201cCadets are brought back to the \u201980s and \u201990s: no cellphone, no electronics, no make up or jewelry,\u201d said retired Trooper Michele Naab. \u201cOld school.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe 56 cadets from Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties are taking part in the Pennsylvania State Police Camp Cadet held at Valley Forge Military Academy off Eagle Road. The program is open to youth ages 11 to 14 and for counselors up to age 18. Actives range from archery, and push carts to crime scene investigation and proper use of firearms. (PETE BANNAN-DAILY TIMES)<\/p>\n

The program is patterned after the training for recruits to become troopers in the state police.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to introduce kids (to) law enforcement, have them (hear) from municipal officers and troopers what it\u2019s like to be in law enforcement, gaining practical knowledge in crime scene investigation. We introduce them to K-9s, aviation department, the bomb squad will come out, all types of stuff like that,\u201d said Trooper Paul Holdefer, Troop K public information officer. \u201cThe general things you would do at a police academy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rigorous overnight camp has the cadets up at 5:30 a.m. doing calisthenics and running a mile before breakfast and before most of their civilian classmates and counterparts are out of bed.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe 56 cadets from Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties are taking part in the Pennsylvania State Police Camp Cadet held at Valley Forge Military Academy off Eagle Road. The program is open to youth ages 11 to 14 and for counselors up to age 18. Actives range from archery, and push carts to crime scene investigation and proper use of firearms. (PETE BANNAN-DAILY TIMES)<\/p>\n

Holdefer said Camp Cadet has been going on since the 1970s and has been very successful, with a number of graduates having gone into law enforcement.<\/p>\n

Cadets take part in or see presentations from a variety of police specialties. They learn safe handling of firearms and will fire a rifle while closely monitored at a range.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow to shoot, knowing what is behind your target and all of things they have to know about firearm safety,\u201d Holdefer said.<\/p>\n

\"BuckinghamBuckingham Police Officer Steve Thomas with Gabe Dunn, 12, Springfield, on the archery range Monday at Troop K’s Camp Cadet at Valley Forge Military Academy. (PETE BANNAN-DAILY TIMES)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re training the bodies and the minds. We\u2019re trying to give these kids a sense of personal responsibility, making sure they are on top of themselves but also looking out for their fellow cadets and their fellow humans,\u201d Holdefer said.<\/p>\n

He said the instructors like to put time in for the kids to see a path in life, to \u201cteach them personal responsibility and get them on the right path. That is what we prefer.\u201d<\/p>\n

The camp also has plenty of fun activities, such as rock climbing, pushcart races, archery, basketball and swimming.<\/p>\n

On Monday, the cadets learned about the science of crime scene investigation.<\/p>\n

\"OneOne of the 56 cadets attending the Pennsylvania State Police Camp Cadet held at Valley Forge Military Academy takes part in a simulation of impaired driving. (PETE BANNAN-DAILY TIMES)<\/p>\n

Instructors told the cadets what to look for at the scene, and gave tips about interviewing witnesses to quickly and accurately find the who, what and where of events.<\/p>\n

State police accident reconstruction expert Cpl. Ed Homa told the cadets that good investigators want to ask what he called an open-ended and fact-finding question.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to give the person we are interviewing an opportunity to elaborate and tell the story to us, no just asking one little question and get a yes or no answer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Homa also said it is important to document the events and details accurately.<\/p>\n

\"AA cadet takes notes during classes on crime scene investigation at the Pennsylvania State Police Camp Cadet held at Valley Forge Military Academy this week. (PETE BANNAN-DAILY TIMES)<\/p>\n

\u201cPolice work isn\u2019t just exciting, it involves paperwork. We need to have details straight,\u201d he said. \u201cYou must have a compelling and straight story to tell a judge and jury.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cadets who have taken part in the program are able to stay involved as junior counselors from age 14 to 18, and from a sampling of interviews, the program is a success.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives a nice insight to a law enforcement career: what they do, how they do it, the structure. I\u2019m interested in a law enforcement career,\u201d said Paul Graham, 14, of Radnor who was doing 10 push-ups after losing what he called a \u201cfriendly\u201d archery competition.<\/p>\n

\"PaulPaul Graham, 14, of Radnor does push-ups after losing what he called a “friendly” archery competition. (PETE BANNAN-DAILY TIMES)<\/p>\n

\u201cCamp Cadet is really a great experience. It helps kids try new things they may not have tried before. It\u2019s inspiring if you want to be a cop or trooper, and they have nice activities to get you going in the morning,\u201d said Erin Johnson,13, of Sharon Hill. \u201cIt\u2019s a good experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI like being able to help kids learn new experiences, have fun and overcome the challenges they have to work through,\u201d said Sara Krol, 15, of New Cumberland. \u201cTroopers have interesting jobs. It\u2019s very interesting work they do, all the specializations they have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked about the early morning routine, Krol said the early start and the marching isn\u2019t that bad.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe marching, it\u2019s fun to teach the new people how to do it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Selina Do, 13, of Havertown said she doesn\u2019t hate the marching.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s livable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"AllisonAllison Homa, 14 of Media climbs the rock wall. \u201cI learned a bunch of stuff, rifles, archery, we learned how to march, how the do the military procedure. It\u2019s kind of cool, the rhythm of it,\u201d she said. (PETE BANNAN-DAILY TIMES)<\/p>\n

Later in the week, cadets will take part in a mock traffic stop and then a mock court trial to learn about those important aspects of police work, followed by graduation on Friday.<\/p>\n

Troop K Camp Cadet is classified as a public charity under sections 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code and is qualified to receive tax-deductible gifts\/donations.<\/p>\n

All money goes directly to the camp. Holdefer said that over the years the cost of attending the camp has risen to $200 per cadet, though it was once a free camp.<\/p>\n

Financial donations are accepted at https:\/\/troopkcampcadet.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe 56 cadets from Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties are taking part in the Pennsylvania State Police Camp Cadet held at Valley Forge Military Academy off Eagle Road. The program is open to youth ages 11 to 14 and for counselors up to age 18. Actives range from archery, and push carts to crime scene investigation and proper use of firearms. (PETE BANNAN-DAILY TIMES)<\/p>\n

Originally Published: July 7, 2025 at 6:31 PM EDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On Monday there wasn\u2019t a cellphone or a preoccupied young person to be seen as more than 55…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":47719,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5132],"tags":[5229,9630,7282,728,9631,50,1448,2830,1311,33431,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-47718","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-chester-county","10":"tag-delaware-county","11":"tag-local-news","12":"tag-montgomery-county","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-pa","15":"tag-pennsylvania","16":"tag-philadelphia","17":"tag-top-stories-mlt","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-united-states-of-america","20":"tag-unitedstates","21":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","22":"tag-us","23":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114815624088160998","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47718\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}