Lawton police captain follows ‘Yellow Brick Road’ of knowledge

For Ryan Studebaker, finding himself a graduate of the 290th session of the FBI National Academy is something he might never had dreamed 25 years ago after leaving Geronimo for college.

Now, the Lawton Police captain is among fewer than 1 percent of the nation’s officers.

“It kind of fell onto me,” he said. “I was in college, finding my way and I realized I do not like living locked behind a desk.”

Studebaker’s older brother, David, was a police officer and told exciting tales about the job that made it seem like the right career path for him. With both his grandfathers retired military, he also thought pragmatically about having his pension available. He went through the police academy and joined the Lawton department in 2003.

“I said, ‘I think I’d like to be a police officer,’” he said. “I absolutely loved it when I first started.”

The repetition of the job began to cool down his enthusiasm after five to 10 years. Then the opportunity to become a supervisor arose and reawakened his fire. Studebaker now serves as Watch Commander for the Patrol Division.

“I think it kind of revived me,” he said. “I feel I am so happy I stuck it out.”

Sticking it out paid off when he heard about the FBI academy.

The National Academy is internationally known for its academic excellence. It offers 10 weeks of advanced communication, leadership and fitness training. Participants must have proven records as professionals within their agencies to attend. On average, these officers have 21 years of law enforcement experience and usually return to their agencies to serve in executive-level positions.

“I only thought it would be kind of cool to do that because it’s so prestigious,” Studebaker said.

Studebaker and Blake Simpson from Bixby represented Oklahoma; no more than two officers from each state are selected each session. They would be two of the 201 members of the 290th session of graduates.

These students consisted of men and women from 46 states and the District of Columbia and also included members or law enforcement agencies from 24 countries, five military organizations, and six federal civilian organizations.

The classes were from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Studebaker said there would also be meetings, dinner and presentations each day at 5:30 p.m.

“They kept you very busy,” he said. “It’s just like college.”

All the coursework was at Master’s level, Studebaker said. Each student selected the courses that corresponded to their interests. Over the 10 weeks, or 270 hours, he received 18 credits for: wellness and fitness in law enforcement, strategic communications for law enforcement executives; critical incident leadership for executives (crisis) negotiations; constitutional law and policing trends, analysis and application; seminar in managing the law enforcement image; and leading at-risk employees for an executive.

Studebaker remembered his college law class and had trepidation with the Constitutional law class.

“I was scared of that class,” he said. “It turned out the instructor was an attorney for the FBI; he was very high energy, and he kept my attention the whole time. It turned out to be one of my favorite classes.”

Application of what was learned will be put into use on the job, Studebaker said. Of course there will be adjustments for the local department’s needs; no one place is exactly like another, he said.

One of those was learned from another student, a captain with the California Highway Patrol, regarding morale raising for officers. It’s perceived as a cultural shift. He got permission from the FBI to offer a presentation.

Studebaker hopes it can provide another way to be an effective supervisor for his officers.

“I’m working on applying it here to present,” he said. “We see a lot of crazy things.”

Another course that impacted Studebaker was the crisis negotiations. The instructor was the FBI crisis negotiator who negotiated with the Somali pirates portrayed in the movie “Captain Phillips.”

“I’m the Crisis Negotiator Commander for our agency,” he said. “I became commander as soon as I made captain.”

The most challenging aspect, according to Studebaker was the physical training. They would have three to four of those a week before undergoing challenges. Each challenged referenced “The Wizard of Oz.” From the Tin Man Trop, it went to the Cyclone, then Not In Kansas Anymore, Off to See the Wizard, the Winged Monkey 5K, the Wicket Witch and finally the Emerald City Mile.

At its conclusion came the penultimate challenge: the Yellow Brick Road where participants had to complete eight challenges over the 6-mile obstacle course. Studebaker said it was done at the Marine Corps base that the “leathernecks” use.

“You work your butt off and push yourself to see how far you could go,” he said.

Displayed in Studebaker’s office is the Yellow Brick awarded to those who completed the course. As physically and mentally demanding as it was, the payoff was enormous.

Outside of class, the students learned from each other while discussing their coursework as well as experiences from their locales.

“I learned as much from the other officers as I did at school,” he said. “We would pick each other’s brains … and we would see how all across the country, other agencies have the same issues as us.”

On the weekends, Studebaker traveled throughout the area. He went to Washington, D.C., to the U.S. Capitol and the historic sites in Philadelphia, as well as sites from the Civil War and the Revolutionary War. Thomas Jefferson’s home was a favorite.

“I loved Monticello,” he said.

His binders full of photos from the journey are one of his favorite keepsakes.

“There was so much history,” he said. “Every weekend I explored something. Even when I didn’t feel like it, I did something.”

When he returned, Studebaker said he knew he’d left his own Oz for a lawman. But with his Yellow Brick as reminder, he’d carried the magic knowledge to become a wizard of sorts back to his home department.