DEA, Programs, Domestic Training, Professional Development Program

Domestic Training
Professional Development Program

Advanced Agent School: This school is coordinated by the DEA Office of Training, Specialized Training Unit. All DEA Special Agents are required to attend this school between their second and fifth year following graduation from the DEA Basic Agent Training Program. Students attending this one-week school will be given the opportunity to sharpen their leadership skills and will receive updated information on the current trends in trafficking and financial investigation techniques, as well as the newest tactical raid, arrest and vehicle containment procedures.
Conspiracy and Complex Investigations School: The Conspiracy and Complex Investigations School was designed for Special Agents, Diversion Investigators, Intelligence Research Specialists, and Task Force Officers. This three-day school trains students in the art of developing complex, long term, and historical investigations. The course places emphasis on case histories to enhance the learning process, including case development and the use of special investigative techniques, such as wire intercepts and the use of financial databases.
Field Training Agent Program: The Field Training Agent Program (FTAP) is designed to provide field mentors and evaluators for newly-graduated Special Agents. As an extension of Basic Agent training, it provides a seamless transition from the Academy into the working environment of drug law enforcement. The FTAP is a vital training link to ensure that new Special Agents maintain their professionalism and continue to sharpen their skills, as they become experienced and effective investigators.

The foundation of the FTAP is a four-day school that provides selected senior Special Agents with the tools to become effective mentors. The FTAP is administrated through the Office of Training and has oversight of approximately 1,200 active Field Training Agents who oversee the three-phase, 16-week field training schedule for novice Special Agents.
Basic Asset Forfeiture Training: Coordinated by DEA’s Office of Training, this 4 ½ day program is offered to DEA Special Agents, Task Force Officers, Intelligence Research Specialists, and Diversion Investigators. This program is designed to enhance the participant’s investigative abilities in recognizing and conducting financial investigations. Through lectures combined with audiovisual presentations, participants will learn how to identify, track, evaluate, and seize financial assets.
Executive Writing Course: The Executive Writing Course is limited to DEA management and supervisory personnel. This two-day school is designed to assist DEA supervisory and management personnel in discovering and refreshing elements that produce effective executive and management level writing to include, appropriate format, clear organization, strong sentence structure, active voice verbs, correctly placed modifiers, parallelism, and consistent use of punctuation, capitalization, listings, and numbers. The instructors use the DEA supervisors’ own unique executive documents and correspondence samples (redacted) for the course. This ensures that the class material is relevant and that the course has a practical outcome.
Effective Writing Course: This two-day course is designed for DEA non-supervisory and contract personnel. The course will help students discover and refresh elements that produce effective writing, appropriate format, clear organization, strong sentence structure, active voice verbs, correctly placed modifiers, parallelism, and consistent use of punctuation, capitalization, listings, and numbers. The instructors use students’ own DEA writing and e-mail samples (redacted) that are submitted to the instructors prior to the start of the course, as the basis for the course. This ensures that the class material is relevant and that the course has a practical outcome.
Pre-Retirement Seminar – The Pre-Retirement Seminar is a three-day school offered to all DEA employees, and their spouses, who are within five years of retirement eligibility. Areas of instruction include an analysis of retirement benefits, tax planning, retirement planning and forecasting, along with health and life insurance benefits.
Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Refresher Course – The EMT Refresher Course is offered in two forms so that DEA Special Agent/EMTs (SA/EMT) have the opportunity to recertify their knowledge and skills. The Office of Training offers a 40-hour course that includes a 24-hour mandatory refresher class as well as 16 hours of continuing education units (CEUs). A second course provides another 40 hours of mandatory CEUs. Combined, these courses satisfy the biennial requirement for a SA/EMT to maintain proficiency as established by the National Registry of EMTs (NRMET). These courses are offered 3-4 times annually at TR and are conducted by the DEA Medical Directors. In addition to receiving in-service training the updates on new skills, the SA/EMT has an opportunity to work with our two emergency physicians whom provide licensure to our EMTs. Classes include treatment of medical, environmental and trauma emergencies. Legal, administrative and advance protocol topics are also covered.
Financial Investigations Seminar: Coordinated by DEA’s Office of Training, this four-day program is conducted by the Department of Justice, Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section and the Organized Criminal Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). This program is offered to DEA Special Agents, Task Force Officers, Intelligence Analysts, and Diversion Investigators; DOJ-component law enforcement personnel, and prosecutors. This program is designed for individuals who investigate financial crimes and have some experience in such investigations. Through lectures, interactive workshops, and a videotaped hypothetical financial investigation case, participants will learn the skills necessary to conduct a financial investigation. Hands-on activities help students improve the effectiveness of their investigations and prosecutions.
Financial Investigation Technique: The Financial Investigation Techniques program is a four-day school offered to DEA Special Agents, Task Force Officers, Intelligence Research Specialists, and Diversion Investigators. This program is designed to present field skills that allow personnel to effectively use financial information to document the money trail of drug crimes. Specialized financial investigation methods are presented to identify targets and drug networks, corroborate charges, and locate and forfeit assets.
Money Laundering Seminar: The Money Laundering Seminar is a three-day school, coordinated with the Office of Financial Operations, offered to DEA Special Agents, Task Force Officers, Intelligence Research Specialists, and Diversion Investigators. The program is designed to provide specialized money laundering training to increase students’ investigative abilities to identify, gather, and document drug-money laundering organizations in the United States and internationally. In addition, students will increase their knowledge of the financial services industry, how to target money laundering systems, and seize and forfeit the revenues generated by the drug-money laundering organizations.
Instructor Development Course: This cornerstone course is mandatory for all entry-level instructors. The course is based upon adult learning theories with relevant application. This six-day course blends presentation with interaction, ensuring comprehensive law enforcement learning. Topics for this course include: Adult Learning, Needs Assessment, Task Analysis, Instructional Strategies and Objectives, Methods of Instruction, Lesson Plans, Speech Anxiety, and Audio/Visual Training Aids.

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