Yesterday, 42 individuals, including 37 men and five women began training for the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE).  Training includes nine months of classroom instruction followed by two months in the field under the supervision of a training officer.

The addition of new officers received support from Gov. David Ige and the Hawai‘i State Legislature. DLNR/DOCARE is partnering with the Dept. of the Attorney General, the Department of Accounting and General Services, and Honolulu Community College, which is part of the University of Hawai‘i system and was instrumental in designing the academy curriculum.

Lt. Carlton Helm leads the academy program for DOCARE and described the adaptive and flexible attitude recruits will need to adopt to succeed and to become sworn officers.  In a press release he said, “the pandemic really highlighted the need for resilience and being adaptive and fluid to the working and occupational environment we work in. For example, a Hawai‘i Island DOCARE officer may have to respond to the hunting areas on Mauna Kea one morning, and then find themselves responding to the rain forests of Puna or Volcano in the afternoon. Teaching these recruits about being adaptive and fluid is an important component of their training. Their bodies, their minds, and their spirit will need to be adaptive.”

DLNR Photo