A 1990 Woodward High School graduate, who has gone on to become a captain with the Guymon Police Department, will soon participate in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Academy.

Michael Babb, 37, went through an almost two-year selection process before finally being selected to attend this elite academy, which according to the FBI website www.fbi.gov, has only had 42,459 graduates since its inception in 1935. He will begin his 10 week training course at the FBI academy in January.



HOW HE GOT HIS START

“When I was a little kid, I was always fascinated with being a law enforcement officer,” Babb said.

But it was actually the father of one of his friends growing up who influenced him to pursue his childhood dream of becoming a police officer.

“My friend’s dad was Bobby Taylor; he was a highway patrolman,” Babb said. “He was a really good man; he had good morals. He stood for something, stood for what was right. I always thought a lot of him.”

Babb wanted to stand for what was right as well and so began pursuing a law enforcement career as soon as he could.

“You have to be 21 to be a police officer, so when I turned 21 I began sending out resumes all over. The first place I got an offering was in Guymon and I started out here in 1993,” he said.

“I worked for the city police department until 1997. Then I went to work for the Texas County Sheriff’s Office,” Babb said, noting that he switched for a while for a change of pace.

“With the sheriff’s office, you have a bigger area to cover and you deal with a lot of different aspects than you do with municipal such as the court aspect, taking inmates to and from court, and the civil service aspect, serving papers,” he said.

“I came back to the city in 2003,” Babb said, noting that one reason he came back was because municipal police agencies offer better retirement than county agencies.

After returning to the Guymon Police Department, Babb worked his way up to captain and even served as interim police chief for about a year before current Police Chief Eddie Adamson joined Guymon in October 2007.

It was around that time that Babb was approached to consider applying for the FBI National Academy.



HONOR AND OPPORTUNITY

“I was approached by John Davis, the FBI agent in Woodward. He inquired if I was interested in applying and I said, ‘of course,’” Babb said, noting that he was “somewhat familiar” with the academy and that the distinction it represented to be asked to participate.

“To me it is a very prestigious honor, something that most wouldn’t have a chance to go to,” he said, noting “I’ve heard somewhere that only one percent of all law enforcement officers ever get a chance to go.”

Beyond it being an honor, Babb said he realizes the opportunities that his selection to the National Academy offers.

The biggest opportunity, he said, is “you meet a lot of people from all over the United States and some international people as well.”

This, he said, provides a chance “to learn different techniques to approach areas and topics we deal with every day ... (and to hear) different points of view from people all over the United States who deal with the same issues we do.”

But it is more than just discussions while you are at the academy, Babb said.

“You develop relationships,” he said, so that whenever he might have an issue he is not sure how to address, “you have someone to call.”



WIDE VARIETY OF TRAINING AREAS

Babb explained that the FBI National Academy is “ran basically kind of like a college.”

In fact, the FBI website notes “For 10 classroom-hour weeks, four times a year, classes of some 250 officers take undergraduate and/or graduate college courses at our Quantico, Virginia, campus in the following areas: law, behavioral science, forensic science, understanding terrorism/terrorist mindsets, leadership development, communication and health/fitness.”

There is “mandatory physical fitness,” Babb said, but noted that otherwise “you get to pick your classes.”

For his five classes, Babb has chosen: leadership for law enforcement officers, labor law issues, ethics in law enforcement, computer environments for law enforcement and the psycho-social behavior, mindset and intelligent trends of violent street gangs.

He selected the first four classes because he felt they would help him in his everyday duties.

“In my job, I’m basically second in command, so I deal with a lot of administrative issues, which ties in with leadership and I deal with labor issues and ethics,” he said, noting that he also works with computers a lot with reports and such.

However, the class on the behavior and mindset of street gangs was “my elective course,” Babb said.

“It delves into why they do it and that interested me,” he said, noting that while gangs aren’t necessarily a big problem in Guymon, “we deal with it some.”



EXCITEMENT

With only about a month left to go until he heads off to Virginia for the almost three-month academy, Babb said he is “really looking to it.”

He is not alone in his excitement.

Babb noted that although his wife is “not looking forward to the fact that I’m going to be gone that long, ... she is excited that I get this opportunity.”

And Babb’s boss, Adamson said, “I cannot tell you how excited we are that he will be attending the academy.”

“The academy is not something that just any police captain can go to,” Adamson said, noting that “very few have all the qualities he (Babb) has.”

He noted that Babb “not only has administrative experience, handling the operational issues such as budgets and assignments, but he also serves as the commander of our SWAT team.”

“He doesn’t just sit in his office, he also has his boots on the ground in any critical instance,” Adamson said.

The police chief noted that Babb also performs a lot of instruction for the Guymon Police Department, including serving as a firearms instructor.

“All of those little things add up to a very big picture,” Adamson said, noting that it is “because of all his (Babb’s) unique qualifications that we nominated him.”

“Quite honestly, I nominated Capt. Babb because his is one of the finest representatives of law enforcement that I’ve met in my career,” he said. “I can’t speak highly enough of him.”

Adamson’s nomination was crucial for Babb’s selection to the academy.

“A formal nomination has to come from the chief, because your agency head has to agree to let you go away for that long of a time,” Babb said.

But Adamson was more than happy to nominate Babb.

“Not only will he come back with a great deal of information, but I feel he will be able to impart a great deal of information to his fellow students,” Adamson said.

“We’re proud he gets to go,” he said.