The Farmington officer was the only Mainer to attend the classes this year.
FARMINGTON – After hovering on the waiting list for five years, Jack Peck knew that when he finally arrived at the FBI headquarters in Quantico, he’d better work his hardest to make the wait worth it.
And he did.
Peck, 40, returned home two weeks ago after spending 10 weeks at the FBI National Academy, an elite management training school for select officers from around the world who have proven themselves as professionals within their agencies.
Second in command at the Farmington Police Department, Lt. Peck was the only officer from Maine at the 216th session of the academy, which graduated a class of 244 on March 19.
Peck said he is proud to be the first officer from Franklin County ever to attend.
While there, he took six courses for a total of 17 credits.
“I had to be a glutton,” Peck said with a laugh on Thursday, back in familiar surroundings in the Police Department. “It was free.”
Farmington paid only his salary while he was gone and for his FBI academy uniform. The FBI paid for the schooling, travel, room and board and all other expenses.
Peck purposely busted out of his comfort zone, signing up for classes in areas far from his expertise: Budgeting, grant writing, public speaking, labor law, forensic science and investigative psychology.
“I didn’t embarrass myself,” he reported. He got all A’s, except for a “B” in budgeting.
In addition to the extensive classroom work, officers also had to undergo rigorous physical workouts that included weekly fitness challenges.
At the end of the 10 weeks, Peck earned the coveted yellow brick having successfully completed Quantico’s legendary “Yellow Brick Road,” a 9.2 mile obstacle course made famous when it was tackled by Jodie Foster in an early scene of “Silence of the Lambs.”
The principal speaker at the graduation was FBI Director Robert Mueller III, who presented Peck his certificates and shook his hand.
“It was the best training I’ve ever been involved in. We received first rate instruction and got the opportunity to interact with some of the best law enforcement officers in the world,” Peck said, adding that his was grateful to his department’s chief, Richard E. Caton III, and the town for allowing him to attend. “It was a great experience.”
The only downside was being away from his wife, Faith, and 16-year-old son, Jack III, for so long, though they did come down for his graduation, he said.
For Peck, the best part of the academy was to come home and use what he has learned to benefit his community. “Every class I took will be beneficial to both myself and the town,” he said. In addition to what Peck learned during his course work, he also has the contacts for 22,521 of the best officers around the world who have graduated from the academy and are still active in law enforcement work.
They are connections he plans to use, he said.
Chief Caton said Peck’s knowledge will help the lieutenant and the entire force better serve the town. And he pointed out that if and when he retires, Peck’s recent training will put him in a better position to assume the lead role of the department.
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