I am the Asst. Chief in my post and have been there for 4 years. (Just some background information)

We just got a new advisor a couple months ago, the former advisor treated us as if we were children. The main advice I can give you is treat them as young adults. If you can be there friend as well as an advisor it will make your job much easier.

Also, nip the problem explorers in the bud as soon as possible. Our former advisor let a lot of things slide and now we have an explorer who has a criminal record but he has been in for so long that we can't kick him out now.

I would like to wish you luck with the post, I think explorers is a great program and has helped me out a lot, and put me on the track to become an officer. Like I said, treat them as young adults, give them responcibilties and they will do almost anything for you, I would work any event for our advisor, and I would take a bullet for him if ever needed to (not that he would put me in that position). I am looking forward to working with him this summer at the explorer acadmy.

Hope that helps. Any further questions feel free to ask.

Thanks for the reply. It doesn't sound to different from other youth programs I've been involved in...

Explorers is an awsome tool to help anyone going into lawenforcement. It gives you a since of what it will be like. If you are stright forward and honest with the explorers they will show you a lot of respect. Our current advisor, when he first became advisor stright up told us, if you guys "bust my balls, I will bust yours twice as hard." He also said that anyone who had a problem with the way he was teaching should take it up with him, if he caught anyone talking behind his back they would be suspended for 2 weeks, then 3 months, the kicked out.

Also from what I've seen in the explorer post that I am with, there seems to kinda be a lack in the following of the by-laws (rules). For example, there is to be no swearing, yet everyone does. And there is to be no use of tobbacco products what so ever, yet there is one kid who chews. So I would try to enforce the rules.

Yep, and make sure that you do not give the "young" explorers the chance to get power hungery, this can lead to a general low post morale.....just another thought.....