Virginia State Police Graduate 59, Woodbridge Man Joins Ranks

RICHMOND, VA — The Commonwealth of Virginia graduated its 130th generation of Virginia State Patrol troopers Friday, adding 59 men and women to the ranks. Among the graduates was Jacob Peter Gooch of Woodbridge, who will be assigned to patrol in the Springfield area.

Commencement exercises were held at 10 a.m. Friday at the State Police Training Academy in North Chesterfield County. Ryan Washington, deputy secretary of public safety and homeland security, was in attendance of the ceremony.

The new troopers received more than 1,300 hours of classroom and field instruction in more than 100 different subjects, including defensive tactics, crime scene investigation, ethics and leadership, survival Spanish, police professionalism, firearms and more.

The members of the 130th Basic Session began their 29 weeks of academic, physical and practical training March 20. The new troopers report to their assigned stations Oct. 7 to complete six final weeks of training with a field training officers.