What to bring to the Academy?

You won’t be sent a packing list, but hopefully this will help.

Trainee's are now given $1,000 allowance toward clothing and equipment. You will not actually get any of the $1,000
because it is an amount that is allotted to you, what you don't use, you lose.
You really only need around $100.00 cash to take with you.

When you Enter On Duty (EOD), you are responsible for the cost of
transportation to your assign duty Sector, hotel costs, and meals.

Monday - Get sworn in and lots of paper work
Tuesday - More paper work and tour of area
Wednesday - Leave sector usually early A.M. to fly out to the academy
(Government pays for this flight)

Insight
Things to take
Things to have, but can be purchased after arrival
Here are a list of things that are provide for you at the Artesia, Academy
Wish List
Things to NOT have
A little more information

Insight:

Male - Business casual clothes – polo shirts with collars, nice slacks, belt, shoes. No SHORTS in class (4-5 weeks in “Civvies”)
Female - same as male but skirts can be worn too. Women with hair longer then shoulder length MUST wear their hair up in a pony tail or bun like hair style.

Please note for females: bring a lot of underwear to the academy. When you go to PT, you will want to have extra underwear in your locker. You are supplied with a sports bra, shorts and shirt for PT, but you will go through 2-3 pair of underwear a day on average; possibly more if you do after hours remedial's/workouts on your own.

This person used to take about 10 clean pair on Mondays, and a zip lock bag for dirties.
These can be stored in your PT locker, and no one will touch them.

Now with saying all that about the women.

I received a email from a female trainee and this is what she said:
"On your web site, you mentioned that women are allowed to wear skirts to the academy, however, that is not always the case.

While academy policy may allow skirts, many instructors do not. I found out the hard way my first time at the academy. I had taken business skirts, and was told not to wear them. So, new trainees can't necessarily count on wearing skirts.

My last Law instructor not only didn't allow skirts, but stud earrings, visible makeup, and shirts designed to go outside of slacks were not allowed. She also required us to wear a belt daily, which meant some of the slacks I had packed were not acceptable as well.

The safest plan for female trainees is to take slacks with a belt, and shirts that button down, and tuck in. Otherwise, they may find themselves purchasing clothes once they arrive at the academy."

Hope it helps =)

Things to take:

1. Travel sized shampoo.
2 . Toothpaste / tooth brush.
3 . 2 Pair of good running shoes. Good running shoes.
4 . Alarm Clock – should be in your room
5 . Phone Cards or Cell Phone.
6 . Watch (make sure it doesn't’t beep in class).
7 . Casual clothes for your off time.
8 . Camera and film – take pictures early and through out, trust me!
9 . Laundry bag.
10. Postal stamps and stationary

Things to have, but can be purchased after arrival:

1. Around 500 Index cards (MANY for Spanish and Law memorization).
2. Sharpie markers.
3. Snacks & Drinks for your room.
4. Ear plugs, if your roommate snores or the hall is too loud.
5. Soap, Shampoo, etc. (Hotel sized soap supplied, but not shampoo).
6. Black Shoe Polish & accessories.
7. Heavy Starch (Sta Flo works very well, but spray starches are OK).
8. V-Neck or Athletic style under shirts.
9. Brass Polish (semi-chrome or brasso work well).
10. Laundry soap, etc. (don’t use softener on uniforms, though). you can also send your uniform out to be
dried clean for a fee, etc.
11. A computer Jump drive to hold your documents/paperwork on.
12. High lighters.
13. Prescriptions (with refill info)
14. Staple puller (day one for all the packets)
15. Shoeshine kit
16. Three blank cd's for spanish (they will record the lessons on mp3 format, make sure your cd player is able to play in that format)
17. Black socks to wear with your uniforms when you get them.
18. A heavy jacket and maybe a light one for when the temp starts to warm up. (the temperature has been pretty cold)
19. Motrin instead of Tylenol, easier on the stomach. 
20. Instead of Ben-gay and Ici-hot get some freezer bags from the dollar store (in Artesia) and use the supplied ice from the ice machines, it is better for you then topical salves.

Here are a list of things that are provide for you at the Artesia, Academy:

1. Phone in room
2. T. V. with basic cable
3. Body (shower) soap
4. Shuttle service every 30 minutes to go to town. (The shuttle service is free)
5. Heater/AC
6. Towels, linens, hotel soap, toilet paper, ironing board.
7. A pretty thick comforter (no need to bring extra blankets)
8. Desk lamps and plenty of lighting in the room
9. Class schedule, paper, pens, pencils, first high lighter, and notebooks.
10. Maid service – makes beds, cleans restroom, etc. Don’t leave a mess for them.
11. Meals – 3 a day at the Chow Hall.

For your luggage, make sure you pack two suit cases instead of one giant one. Since most of you will be catching a flight from a small plane, the max weight per luggage is 50 lb. Anything over that will be charged extra. One of my classmate was charged $85 dollars because his giant suit case weighed 80 lbs. Remember, you could buy things here in town as well.

Wish List: Very desirable but not necessary:

1. Vehicle – Cabs get expensive, and can be unreliable.
2. Laptop Computer and Printer – But so far the computer labs have always been pretty empty. (if you have a laptop then you probably won't need to buy a cd player, because your laptop should be able to play mp3 format.)
3. Warm Blanket (rooms get VERY cold at times).

Things to NOT have:

1. Stimulants such as ephedrine or caffeine used for performance enhancement, etc.
2. Valuables that can’t be locked in a wall locker.
3. Alcohol in room, nope can't do.

A little more information:

The dorm rooms are either single occupancy or double occupancy or more depending on the needs of the service. Either way you share a bathroom (also depends on how many trainees are at the academy will depend on how many are per room).
The rooms are really nice...you get a TV,desk, alarm clock, your own sink, and iron. There are no refrigerators in the room despite the common misconception that there are.

Hope it helps, anyway! Good Luck!

SAVE RECEIPTS FOR TAXES!
I am sure I haven't disclosed all the information that you will need, but this will give you a great start in getting things in order!

This information is supplied from those that are or have attended the academy. If you find something that is new to this page, please send me an email.