Blue Cards

[Capsicum]

Blue cards are used for several things. They are used to report information, they can be used to record something you did good (commendable), something you did wrong (gig), something bad (Wednesday) or something really bad (weekend). There is a minimum and a maximum number that you are required to carry at all times, and like Darth said, better hope you don't go below the minimum, because then the fun begins :smile:

[CHP Explorer]

I know what a blue card is but what is the policy for them in the academy. Like, is there a certain number of blue cards that can get you kick out of the academy? and what is a gig?

[carcop]

There is no number of blue cards that get you kicked out. Blue cards are taken from you if you foul up. The card has all YOUR info so the staff can write what, when, where you did what you did. If you lose three, you loose a Wednesday. Then the tally starts over again.

As for a gig. It's an old military term (not sure of it's origin and too tired to look it up, sorry) anyhow, it is a failure to complete a task asigned to you. Example: You are respopnsible to clean the bathroom, it is not cleaned well ...... you get a gig. Three gigs and you lose a Wednesday.

[SB 405]

So is it just one blue card a cadet carries around with them and pulls out of a shirt pocket when told to do so and notes are made on the card and handed back to the cadet? Or do they carry more than one card which is given to an instructor so they can collect them on a cadet?:sad:

[CHP Explorer]

When I went to the explorer academy up there a Cadet was to carry three with a min. of 2.

From what I saw a Saff Officer will either take one or tell you to go to the staff office and turn one in.

[Darth Choke]

Freaking blue cards!!!

I was only at the academy a little over 2 years ago but...

I thought I remember always having to have FIVE in our pocket. Maybe it was 3. Let's say it was five for the sake of the story.

There were some cadets who were told to give the officer a card. Then they only had four. The officer said, "how many cards do you have?!?!?"

Cadet: I gave you one, so now I have four.
Officer: You have to have five at all times!! Give me another!


hahahahahehehehee

Loved that academy!!!!

[dw]

And the loss of Wednesdays are consecutive.

An example using some of our friends in their first week: ;)

On the first day, Nellie forgets to put on his tie -- one blue card lost.
...then he is caught with dust on his boots -- strike another...
...later he fails to address an officer as "sir" -- that's three and his first Wednesday evening will be spent at Casa de Academy.

ResQ gets the same three gigs his first day. On the second day, he fails a spelling quiz -- one more lost.
Day three and four he skates under the radar, but on Friday's PT orientation, he rolls his eyes and loses five more blue cards.

Now, ResQ will be spending the next three Wednesday evenings writing memos, and he hasn't even served the first one yet.

ResQ and Nellie, no offense guys! Let me know if I was accurate! :cool:

[lomotor]

Oh the Blue Card,

I was at the academy over 3 years ago now. I think that the whole thinking behind the blue card system is first to keep you in check and make sure that you have them with you at all times. They love taking them away so I always carried a few extras in my go bag. We had to have 7 with us at all times. I think that is right. I think another reason that they make you carry these at the academy is to set you up for the road. Always making sure you have blank cards with you to take notes, write down a plate or DL#. Also to make sure you always have crash cards with you as we are always giving those away like they are candy.

[ResQ]

DW..are you staff???!!!! How did you know my first weeks experiences! :lol:

That is perfect though...Wednesday nights are a "gift" in my mind. If you get your liberty...it is simply an opportunity to catch up for the week. I probably wont leave the grounds for more than a few of them the whole time. I will likely try and get to bed early that night, or study a little extra, or something like that...the reality of leaving and grabbing some pizza and watching television for a couple hours to blow off steam just isn't an honest representation.

The current blue card policy is 5-7 on your person at all times.

[SB 405]

"The current blue card policy is 5-7 on your person at all times"


I can hear it now...."How many blue cards are you carrying cadet? Sir I have 5 blue cards on my person...Why so few?"

"How many blue cards are you carrying cadet? Sir I have 7 blue cards on my person...Why so many?"

[Capsicum]

DW..are you staff???!!!! How did you know my first weeks experiences! :lol:

That is perfect though...Wednesday nights are a "gift" in my mind. If you get your liberty...it is simply an opportunity to catch up for the week. I probably wont leave the grounds for more than a few of them the whole time. I will likely try and get to bed early that night, or study a little extra, or something like that...the reality of leaving and grabbing some pizza and watching television for a couple hours to blow off steam just isn't an honest representation.

The current blue card policy is 5-7 on your person at all times.

If you get a Wednesday, take it. I thought the same thing when I was there, but even just getting off the grounds to grab a bite of some non-mass-produced food was a reliever. Not that the academy food is "bad", but its repetitive.

When you lose a Wednesday and you watch your classmates signing out, its a bitch.

[DESERT RAT]

Being the rocket scientist I "IS." My first week went like this: I get into my room and my other two roomates have already chosen their beds, so I get stuck on top bunk. So for the next week I clean the area assigned to the top bunk. Room inspection happends and I lose a wednesday for dust on desk and sill and messy bed. "But, Sir my area is the top of the locker, heater, and doorway." WRONG!!! I was cleaning the wrong area, so my roomate who's area I had been cleaning did not get gigged. However, the area he had been cleaning which was mine, got 3 gigs. I was so torqued at myself for cleaning the wrong area!

[Capsicum]

Nice. I had top bunk as well and got a gig for valuables in the desk drawer, and the top bunk doesn't have responsibility for the desk area :smile:

[CHP Explorer]

Communications, and Teamwork

[HwyChaser]

Yea, Wednesdays are a gift. I actually got to go out on liberty a couple of time during my stay at the academy. Those were the best 2 days of my academy career. It was a game with my roommate to get me all riled up before reporting to the staff office. I would screw it up every time. I actually lost 5 cards with just one visit. Most of my time was spent writing memos with carcop. Oh, those were the days.:biggrin:

[K-Lo]

So what happens with the memos? What triggers a cadet being assigned memos and what do you write about?
They seem to be mentioned a lot. Just curious.

[Your Mentor]

Anything can cause a staff member to require a memo from a cadet. It serves several purposes in the field; like being able to write a report at the drop of a hat. If you show up with a vehicle code violation on your personal vehicle it can result in having to clear a CHP 281 or it could result in a memo. It all depends on the person in charge at the time. Staff members, incidentally, are encouraged to require memos from cadets. It gets the cadet used to being swamped with paper work and, though I know this is hard to believe, you'll appreciate it when you're on breakin. You'll be so overwhelmed on breakin and writing is a huge part of your evals. Hell, you are evaluated on your writing skills for the rest of your career.

[SB 405]

Nice to see you back Mentor. Careful,some of us will start thinking you work for a livin' :lol: Oh yeah BTW,I read some posting from some of your past students at the academy over on the other site and they were very positive on your teaching technique.

[Your Mentor]

Hey SB, thanks.

I was off for a few days and attended Stacey French's memorial service. I knew her really well and her family lives close by so I helped out with the whole service. Tons of brass and Bay Area officers there. Didn't feel very sociable after that. Going back on the road tomorrow.

[SB 405]

Mentor,I suppose you noticed our friends going through the academy checked in last weekend? One of the poor guys has already been gig'd for dust on his dorm room desk.:sad: Doesn't ten people dropping out the first week seem like a high number to you?

[Your Mentor]

Actually that's not an unreasonable number. I've seen scores drop out in the first week. Many did not have the drive that anyone who has been posting here has. In fact, they will often do emergency notifications during the first week to people who are next on the list just to refill those numbers. One of my closest friends on the Dept. is a Northern Division BI and he said they had a hard time filling the November class and are struggling to get the March class filled. The biggest drop-out periods are weeks 1 and 2. A large number will simply not show up Monday of week 2. Every loss after that is usually involuntary; from academics or PT testing.

[SB 405]

Okay say they replace the ten who dropped out with new cadets. The new people have already missed out on one week of training so how is that time made up? And at what point do they stop replacing cadets...week two,three and just go with the number they have?

[Your Mentor]

I've seen replacements show up in week 2 but not beyond. Week 1 is entirely administrative. It's all about paperwork; medical benefits, dental, CAHP presentations, etc. You don't miss much if you don't make week 1. I've never seen replacements beyond week 2. That makes sense though. Early week 2 is the start of many important academic classes. Start in week 3 and you're hopelessely behind.

[WannaBeaChippie]

DW..are you staff???!!!! How did you know my first weeks experiences! :lol:

That is perfect though...Wednesday nights are a "gift" in my mind. If you get your liberty...it is simply an opportunity to catch up for the week. I probably wont leave the grounds for more than a few of them the whole time. I will likely try and get to bed early that night, or study a little extra, or something like that...the reality of leaving and grabbing some pizza and watching television for a couple hours to blow off steam just isn't an honest representation.

The current blue card policy is 5-7 on your person at all times.Is it that bad? Man I love this forum that's good to know...

[CHPGuy]

During my stay at the academy my class was told by the staff that the "Blue Card" is actually sprelled "Blu Kard". Is that true or were they just screwing with us?

[HippieChip]

Being the rocket scientist I "IS." My first week went like this: I get into my room and my other two roomates have already chosen their beds, so I get stuck on top bunk. So for the next week I clean the area assigned to the top bunk. Room inspection happends and I lose a wednesday for dust on desk and sill and messy bed. "But, Sir my area is the top of the locker, heater, and doorway." WRONG!!! I was cleaning the wrong area, so my roomate who's area I had been cleaning did not get gigged. However, the area he had been cleaning which was mine, got 3 gigs. I was so torqued at myself for cleaning the wrong area!

Didn't everyone in the room get gigged if the staff found anything in the inspection. Some people would receive extra gigs for thier specific bed, etc.....

[CHPGuy]

Being the rocket scientist I "IS." My first week went like this: I get into my room and my other two roomates have already chosen their beds, so I get stuck on top bunk. So for the next week I clean the area assigned to the top bunk. Room inspection happends and I lose a wednesday for dust on desk and sill and messy bed. "But, Sir my area is the top of the locker, heater, and doorway." WRONG!!! I was cleaning the wrong area, so my roomate who's area I had been cleaning did not get gigged. However, the area he had been cleaning which was mine, got 3 gigs. I was so torqued at myself for cleaning the wrong area!

Do they still allow cadets to choose which rack they want? When I was up there for ECTC 1-06 they assigned us our racks. I was top rack and I felt like i got the short end of the stick, but by the time of my one week was over, I was glad that I was assigned the top. It is so much easier to make. I didn't know you were assigned special areas of the room to clean. All I know is that my rack was never flipped over once while I was there, but my roommates had theirs flipped across the room twice.

[Capsicum]

You are supposed to be assigned you rack. Your rack SHOULD correspond to your assigned closet. The key that unlocks the closet next to the solo bed has that bed, the key that unlocks the other closet has the bottom bunk and the fortunate cadet that has the key that unlocks the metal locker gets the top bunk.

On reporting day, its like a free-for-all, but as stated above, once that first set of room gigs gets handed out, you quickly figure out who should be where.

[HotPursuit]

Man, all this talk about Blue Cards is getting me all wriled up! It brings clear memories of USAF basic training. We had Blue Cards, also known as 341's, and it looks like they serve the same purpose. Attention-to-detail, accountability, and being able to follow procedures seems like the drill-of-the-day here. Good times!

[600RR_Brad]

That's exactly what I've been thinking reading about these "blue cards". "Give me a 341 airman!!".

Man, all this talk about Blue Cards is getting me all wriled up! It brings clear memories of USAF basic training. We had Blue Cards, also known as 341's, and it looks like they serve the same purpose. Attention-to-detail, accountability, and being able to follow procedures seems like the drill-of-the-day here. Good times!

[WantToBeCHP]

I went to a CHP seminar about 2 months ago, and the officers talked about that a cadet will only recieve about 3-4 hours of rack time each night.

Is this true?

[Fire1]

Of course it is...:badgrin:

Its all how you manage you time. I guarentee you will get to bed no sooner than 2300 for the first week, even though you have nothing to do (you think you do but you really don't). Learn to get to be early and your time there will be much better.

[aggienut]

Of course it is...:badgrin:

Its all how you manage you time. I guarentee you will get to bed no sooner than 2300 for the first week, even though you have nothing to do (you think you do but you really don't). Learn to get to be early and your time there will be much better.

Nice. Comforting thought for those of us (and the majority of the non-Martian population) that require 7 or more to operate well under "normal" workloads vs. the "abnormal" work loads of the academy. :doh:

[beaver]

I've been getting to bed before 2200 and rising at 0500 to prepare for the Academy lifestyle. Its hard to pull my butt up that early and even harder to go right into working out first thing, but hopefully I'll be more prepared this way.

[gabriel]

I've been getting to bed before 2200 and rising at 0500 to prepare for the Academy lifestyle. Its hard to pull my butt up that early and even harder to go right into working out first thing, but hopefully I'll be more prepared this way.

That's good preparation. When I get to BI process I'm gonna start doing that. Honestly, I have no idea what a Blue Card is and how it works even after reading the entire thread. Maybe I'm just dense about that. :hitwall::hitwall:

[snowdog]

I've been getting to bed before 2200 and rising at 0500 to prepare for the Academy

How is going to bed early (before 2200) and getting up late (0500) helping you prepare?
If you really want to prepare, get up at 0400, PT for an hour, get straight to work and only take minimal breaks, as soon as you get home read a book, eliminate all television, only have face to face communication with your spouse/roommate during the week, restrict your telephone calls and eat only plain simple meals and try not to get to bed until 2300. And don't forget to shine your shoes and press your clothes for the following day every weeknight. It's much harder to do without the staff "motivation" than it sounds. I know I couldn't do it but your efforts will pay off in a few weeks.
Good Luck.

[beaver]

How is going to bed early (before 2200) and getting up late (0500) helping you prepare?
If you really want to prepare, get up at 0400, PT for an hour, get straight to work and only take minimal breaks, as soon as you get home read a book, eliminate all television, only have face to face communication with your spouse/roommate during the week, restrict your telephone calls and eat only plain simple meals and try not to get to bed until 2300. And don't forget to shine your shoes and press your clothes for the following day every weeknight. It's much harder to do without the staff "motivation" than it sounds. I know I couldn't do it but your efforts will pay off in a few weeks.
Good Luck.
Good advice, thanks Snow. Haven't had a TV since I got married 5 years ago. I keep getting up earlier each morning and working out longer as fear:shock: of the academy builds. The hardest parts for me will be the limited sleep, lots of handwriting, and being away from my wife for so long. I've been doing the suggesting training for the academy and those crunches and leg extensions SUCK!:redface: I've known I was attending this academy for some time, so I'm fortunate, but I hope those who are still waiting to find out are preparing as well.

[snowdog]

Sounds like your pretty squared away. Good luck and remember, the best way to stay out of trouble is to watch those who are in trouble and make certain you don't copy their actions.

No television :shock: What do you and your wife do? Talk. Television has kept us married for almost three decades.

[beaver]

No television :shock: What do you and your wife do? Talk. Television has kept us married for almost three decades.
I get that :question: a lot actually. I grew up with TV (hence my CHiPS avatar) but we decided not to have it when we got married. Waxing Philosophic--->(TV is just an entertaining distraction from life).Only times I miss it are for big sporting events, which forces us to find other places to watch the big game. We just do a lot more outdoor activities than other folks I guess. We have horses, I married a cowgirl. We do triathlons and marathons. I go paragliding. When we want to see a tv show we rent the DVD from netflix, that way there's no commercials. And we do talk, we communicate pretty well, most days:wink: . Most of this should have been in a PM probably, sorry.

:arrow: Back on the trail, blue cards are just that, blue cards! You stick them in your shirt pocket and keep them on you at all times. Its a way of keeping you on track with the little things at the academy I guess. Its much better than just losing a Wednesday Night for one minor mess-up. At least with blue cards you get three minor mess-ups before you lose that privilege. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[HotPursuit]

Do any officers carry these Blue Cards out on the field? Just to bring back fond memories of the Academy?

Or say if a group of officers are gathered at a social event and an officer fails to have his coveted Blue Card with them. Does he/she have to pay for a round of drinks?

[CHP Explorer]

You would think!

Blue cards are for cadets only.

[Mac]

Nice. Comforting thought for those of us (and the majority of the non-Martian population) that require 7 or more to operate well under "normal" workloads vs. the "abnormal" work loads of the academy. :doh:
Yeah....because God knows that officers never have to stay 3 hours late after graveyard shift finishing reports, only to turn around and spend the whole day in court before driving home, getting two hours of sleep, then driving back to work for another 8-hour shift.

Law enforcement as a career isn't about "normal" ANYTHING - no normal days off, no normal work hours, no normal routine, no normal sleeping pattern, no normal occurrences from one shift to the next. If you're a person who absolutely REQUIRES 7-8 hours of sleep on a daily basis, you're getting into the wrong career.

While I wouldn't say that 3 to 4 hours of rack time is a realistic estimate of what you'll actually get every night at the Academy, you definitely won't get your "full eight" on a regular basis either. It's done that way for a reason - to prepare you, in at least some small measure, for what you'll face in the field as an officer. IMO, it would be even better if they rotated "shifts" at the Academy every month or two - do part of it on days, part on afternoons and part on graveyards.

[retchp]

I think thats a wonderful idea too Mac, why not float it by the Academy staff next time you are up for training and see how they are with it.

[Mac]

I think thats a wonderful idea too Mac, why not float it by the Academy staff next time you are up for training and see how they are with it.
Uh huh....I think you and I both know how that would go over!