Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympic
Law Enforcement Volunteer
"LEVOL"
"America's Finest
Protecting
The World's Best"
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Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympic Law Enforcement Volunteer "LEVOL" "America's Finest Protecting The World's Best" |
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Several people have asked me, "How in the world did you get interested in being a part of the security at the Olympics?" It's an easy story...... In October 1997, I was in Salt Lake City going to a course presented by the IACP. Right around that time is when Salt Lake got the nod for the 2002 games. Several of us were talking about how security would be formed for the games and one person made the comment, "They'll probably just put a call out for officers, especially those with tactical experience." Gee, I was attending a SWAT Commanders School at the time. I kept my ears open, kept looking for stuff through the internet. The big break came while attending a conference for tactical officers in September of 1999. One of the instructors mentioned the Salt Lake Olympic Committee was forming a security group and they would be accepting applications on-line sometime in early 2001, be specific and make sure you mention your tactical background. When I returned from the conference, I spoke to my Chief about the possibility of signing up. He stated he thought it would be a chance for a real experience and some good press for the City. The web site went on-line in March of 2001. I wasted no time in filling out the on-line application. Then it was "sit back and wait" time. I will give our contact, Jennifer Whimpley, credit - she did everything she could to keep us informed as to where things stood in the process. After a couple mailings of signatures from both the Chief and myself, I finally received word in July of 2001 that I had been accepted. I gave the full three week commitment that UOPSC (Utah Olympic Public Safety Command) requested. I was ecstatic!!! Lt. Joel Huntley of Surrey, NH created a web group where we could discuss ideas with other LEVOLS. The posting was fast and furious for the first couple of days in September. But all hell broke loose after the tragic events of Sept.11, 2001. What had been discussed as a pretty fun time suddenly turned to making sure that Munich 1972 didn't happen all over again. "How were the venues going to be secured?" "Any specialized equipment, such as facial recognition software?" And one that was on many of our minds, "We have to bring our service weapons - what about M16's or AR15's? Maybe SMG's?" We were assured by UOPSC that anything other than the service weapon wouldn't be needed - they had things under control. Keeping track of ideas of what to take, how to prepare ourselves and wondering where our venue would be occupied our minds most of the time. The lack of hearing where we would be staying and where we would be working about drove many of us nuts! Starting in the summer of '01, I was requested to be on a committee to plan for the Olympic Torch Relay. Cumberland had been designated as one of the sites the Torch would be through. We would also have a Community Celebration when the Torch arrived sometime around mid-day. Along with attending the committee meetings in town, I also attended Security meetings with other law enforcement agencies. Our date for the Torch - December 20, 2001. After lots of planning and sweating, the day finally came. I relied on five members of my department and they didn't let me down. My THANKS to Cpl JW Yarnall for pulling up the tail of the caravan, Cpl Lepley and Ofc Leedy for hustling from one traffic post to another on their Harleys, Ofcs Dick Huff and Jess Crabtree for holding traffic just when we needed it most. Although it was a blustery December day, the sun was fairly warm and it could have been June for all I cared. Leading the caravan accompanied by the City Administrator, Jeff Repp, my son and his daughter, I felt a certain pride that one rarely gets. This is the Olympic Torch!!! How many people get to do this??? In no time, January rolled around. With it, panic!!!! I had a good bit of cold weather gear, but I was really concerned about footwear. With my luck, I figured I was going to be out guarding a 25'x25' patch of snow in the most remote venue possible, at night. The suggested boot by Jennifer (remember her from earlier in the story?) was some sort of Sorel boot. I checked locally - nothing. Time to get on-line. Ah, Rudy's up at Deep Creek Lake had the boots. I called - not in stock, but we'll order them. Good, do that and call me. I need them BEFORE Jan 31. I got the boots. Supposedly, there were good for minus 100 degrees! Great!!!! As long as the feet stay warm, I'll stay warm. Now, there had been lots of talk on the discussion group about flying with a weapon. I completely alleviated that problem - I drove!! What a blast! Stopped in IN and saw Cousin Mary, stopped in CO and saw Ernie, then on into Orem and stayed with good friend Jeff for 2 days then reported to-------- You guessed it, Soldier Hollow. Remember I said the most remote venue possible? And at night? I should have been a Tarot Card reader. Miss Cleo ain't got nothin' on me!!! Soldier Hollow was a "unique" place. Snuggled up at the foot of some mountains about an hour drive from SLC, it was a very picturesque setting. A person could stand a couple of miles away and see parts of the courses. At night, it almost looked like a picture from Roswell, NM. Sucker was lit up like a UFO. Basically, it was a city unto itself. Without going into detail, there were several "layers" of security. Once inside the main perimeter, a person would feel very secure. So, what did I see, what did I do - just what the heck was it like?!?!?! It's hard to explain. The Kings of Sweden and Norway were in venue for several of the events. Remember, these were the Nordic events - Lots of bragging rights associated with winning any of the Biathlon or Cross Country events. Clint Eastwood was in venue for one of the events - did I see him? Not really. Saw where he was, but with so many people around, I couldn't pick him out. I was too far away. We dealt with athletes and coaches, print and electronic media. One of the head technicians from one country almost had his credentials pulled because of statements he made. While many of us tried to keep things in perspective, there were times where comments such as what the technician said were not acceptable and not appreciated. But, most of the time, most of us had a good time interacting with everyone - from athletes and coaches to the general public. Pin trading was infectious!!!! I didn't come prepared to trade and really didn't want to get caught up in it. My roommate, Darrell was "THE" pin man! He would see a pin, or even a patch, and would barter for days to get what he wanted. I had some stuff to trade - and wound up with some rather desirable pins. There were a couple pins that I wanted, and some that I wouldn't part with once I got them. HAD to have a pin from Germany. Thankfully, I did get that one. Also, there was a pin that I wanted that resembled an Swiss flag and had the Olympic rings in it. Being of Swiss descent, I HAD to have that pin. A lady from California wanted to swap my U.S. Secret Service (VERY desirable) pin for the Swiss pin she had. She wanted the USSS pin for her husband who worked with a police department. Unfortunately for her, it was still early in the Games, I was not willing to give up my pin for hers. I finally got my Swiss pin, she was leaving a day or two after I talked with her. I have no idea if she got her USSS pin or not. I did give her a parting gift for her husband. My last couple days working at Soldier Hollow were probably my most prolific. While working at the Park and Ride Mag & Bag, I was approached by 2 gentlemen from Germany. I swapped one of my bargaining chips for a German Polizei patch. Upon a little further "questioning", I learned that the two were from the Chancellor's advance security team. As a parting gift, I was also blessed with a pin depicting the German Polizei patch. It now resides in my dining room hutch with my Berlin Bear - which I got while in Berlin in 1968. My last day of work was as a "rover" relieving the different Mag&Bags for the first 4 hours. After that, I was able to rove inside the venue. The Athlete Mag&Bag was one of the best places to work. Don't bother the athletes - it's the coaches that had the pins. My limited ability to speak German actually helped me. When tossing in a little German with my English, many of the German coaches would smile and exchange pleasantries, one rewarded my effort with a pin. The very pin I was looking for. At that Mag&Bag, I finished the day garnering about a half-dozen pins. Many being the pins I wanted the most. I feel that my tactical training helped me enormously. I came prepared mentally as well as physically. My boots kept my feet warm - hallelujah!!!! I think there was one time my hands got a little cold - probably from my hands actually sweating in the polar fleece gloves. But with a hand warmer, things went back to being toasty again. While I didn't get to see all that I wanted, mainly other venues as well as the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, I saw and did a lot. Stood in line for over 2 hours for the ROOTS berets. That was a blast thanks to Marcia, her sons, and fellow LEVOLS, Darrell and Rick. Did see, and almost got kicked out of the stands, the last portion of the Women's Slalom at Park City Mtn. Spent about 21 days in a 24' Class C RV sleeping in the top bunk over the driver's seat on about 2"-3" of foam. Had to trek through snow/ice and sometimes mud to take a shower and perform "regular" daily necessities. Was it what I expected it to be? I really didn't know what to expect. After I got past the first week of working Midnight shift guarding that snow in temps down to -13 one night, and adjusting to sleeping in a Class C RV, I had a real good time. My roommate, Darrell Haynes, was a scream to hang with. Here, I get 8 total nights that I am scheduled to work and he gets none - what's up with that?!?!?! Would I have done anything any differently? Yep. I would have bitched and demanded better accommodations than an RV. That was down right ludicrous to have about 1/4th of your volunteers living in RV's. Given the amount of time SLOC had in preparing, you'd have thought something different would have been arranged there in Heber City. Put us up with Mitt Romney - hell, they spent enough on him, spend some on the vols! I would also have brushed up on my German. It's been 32 years since I left Germany - my mastery of the language ain't what it used to be. Well, okay, I never did have it mastered, but I spoke it a lot more fluently way back when. It would have helped a great deal had I brushed up. That's it - those two things. That's all I would have changed. Would I do it again? Sure! In a heart beat. Eventually, I will have pictures of my outer uniform, hat with pins and other memorabilia posted with my other pictures from the SLC 2002 Winter Olympics. Anyway, here's to:
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