10-week, invitation-only program offers ‘rigorous mental and physical training,’ sheriff points out
Col. Brian R. Woodring, chief deputy of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, has graduated from the 283rd session of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Academy, held on the United States Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va., Sheriff Kurt A. Hoffman has announced.
The National Academy is a 10-week, invitation-only program “that places a heavy emphasis on advanced communication, leadership, and fitness training,” with coursework in legal issues, behavioral science, and cyber threats, among other topics, a news release explains. “The 283rd session included a diverse group of 235 law enforcement executives from 49 states, the District of Columbia, and 21 countries,” the release adds.
Woodring is among nearly 54,000 graduates who have completed the FBI Academy since it began in 1935, the release points out. During his program, Woodring also earned a graduate certificate in leadership from the University of Virginia, the release notes.
“This executive training is second to none in the United States,” said Hoffman in the release. “The men and women who dedicate 10 weeks to rigorous mental and physical training in Quantico are seasoned law enforcement professionals and some of the best in the field. I am very proud Col. Woodring was selected to attend the academy, and I look forward to the ideas and enhanced leadership he is bringing back to our agency and community,” Hoffman added in the release.
Woodring earned his bachelor’s degree from Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania, and he holds a master’s degree from the University of South Florida. Woodring joined the Sheriff’s Office in 1996, the release says.
Over the course of his career, the release adds, he has worked in many different areas, “including the Criminal Investigations Section, Community Policing Unit, and Emergency Operations Bureau.” In 2010, Woodring “joined the agency’s SWAT Team, and in 2017, he graduated from the National Tactical Officers Association’s SWAT Team Leader Development Course,” the release points out.
In 2018, Woodring graduated from the FBI-Law Enforcement Executive Development Association’s 306th Command Institute for Law Enforcement Executives and the 241st Executive Leadership Institute, the release notes. Additionally, in 2018, he assumed the role of SWAT Team commander and was promoted to the rank of captain.
Further, Woodring is a graduate of the FBI’s Florida Executive Development Seminar and Southern Police Institute’s 77th Command Officer Development Course, held through the University of Louisville.
After being promoted to major and assigned to the Sheriff’s Office’s Law Enforcement Division in early 2021, Woodring was selected to serve as Sheriff Hoffman’s chief deputy and colonel in January of this year, the release notes.
He serves on the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), as well as the board of directors for Teen Court of Sarasota, the release adds.