At the Grand Prairie Police Academy, 21 cadets are just three weeks away from graduation. Eight of them have a military background and are training to serve their community in a new way.
For David Jordan, service is nothing new.
"After I finished serving my country I wanted to continue to serve in some way. In my opinion, that's something that drives me. I like to be able to serve something greater than myself," Jordan said.
Jordan says he enlisted in 1996, his sophomore year of college, as a way to pay for school.
His most recent job before retiring from military service was collecting intelligence.
"I talk to people and I write reports, which is exactly what you do as a police officer," Jordan said. "And you have to be able to get information from them, but they may not be fully willing to give it up. And be able to talk to them just in a regular way, get the information you need to do the job that's at hand, and be able to do it with the utmost professionalism."
Jordan said his overall history in military service helped get him ready for this next phase of his life.
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"It prepared me for a lot of the things you'll see in law enforcement: long odd hours, a high stress environment, having to focus on attention to detail and still maintain discipline and baring."
At 40 years old, Jordan is one of the oldest cadets in his class, but his life experience and military background are proving beneficial.
"First day in the academy I was in my element," Jordan said. "And I could see for the other guys in the military it was just another day in a military-style environment. We were in our element."
Now he's just three weeks away from the end of the academy, and then after a year's worth of training he'll be on the streets of Grand Prairie serving his community once again.
The Grand Prairie Police Department, and others, give military veterans five extra points on their exams to honor and credit their experience in the military. Those points can help their ranking as cadets.
