Waltham Police Sergeant to Appear on Fox Reality Show

WALTHAM, MA - Sgt. Jim Vaglica has always risen to a challenge.

For more than thirty years, he has been an officer in the Waltham Police Department, serving sixteen of those on the NEMLEC SWAT team.

For one week in April 2013, he and his team worked 12-hour shifts, culminating in a block-by-block search for the Tsarnaev brothers in Watertown.

And when Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was located, it was Vaglica and his team who held the inner perimeter on the now-infamous boat.

Vaglica has competed in road races, off-road races, obstacle courses, bench press competitions, crossfit challenges and ninja warrior contests.

So after three decades in the line of duty, while enduring seemingly every test of physicality dreamt up, where does Vaglica find himself?

In the Pacific Northwest, braving grueling military-grade survival challenges on Fox's new reality series, "American Grit."

Hosted by WWE star John Cena, contestants on "American Grit" are asked to push themselves to their mental and physical limits as they compete for up to a million dollars of prize money.

The 16 participants - none of which have military experience - will be divided into teams of four and coached by an elite member of the armed services called a "cadre."

Vaglica's cadre, Nicholas Irving, is a former Army Ranger sniper with 33 confirmed kills in a single deployment, earning him the nickname "Reaper."

Together the teams will work to simulate what it's like being in an elite military unit.

Vaglica said he was motivated to compete by a desire to represent Boston, a need to represent law enforcement in a positive way and to serve as an ambassador for athletes over 50.

At 53 years old when the show was filmed, Vaglica was the oldest competitor. He said at times he felt out of his league compared to some of the other athletes on the show, but in the end it drove him to push himself.

"I've always been physical and involved in sports," Vaglica told Patch. "So this sounded perfect for me - it was my next challenge."

Each week, the teams tackle a contest called the "evolution." The winner of that is safe from the "circus," where the cadre from each of the bottom three teams sends a member to compete in a single-person contest.

Vaglica, now 54, told Patch he enjoyed having the opportunity to stand out on the show.

"I'm the only one in law enforcement on this show," Vaglica said. "And the only one from Massachusetts. They loved my Boston accent; they'd make fun of it and imitate it."

He continued, "Sometimes I tend to hold back on it, but I just let it all go for this show because they enjoyed it so much."

Watch Sgt. Vaglica compete on "American Grit" Thursday, April 14 at 9 p.m. on Fox.

Photo Credit: Olugbenro Ogunsemore/FOX