News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 21, 1997

DEA BREAKS GROUND FOR NEW TRAINING ACADEMY

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will begin construction on a new training academy on the grounds of the FBI Academy at Quantico, Virginia. The groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for April 21, 1997 at 2:00 p.m.

Congress provided funding for the training academy in the Fiscal Year 1997 Appropriations. The $29 million facility, scheduled for completion in June 1999, will enable the DEA to provide state of the art training for DEA Basic Agents, state and local law enforcement officials, international law enforcement counterparts, and essential training for the entire DEA workforce.

Among the training requirements for DEA personnel are courses for diversion investigators, intelligence analysts, supervisory and management training and periodic refresher training for Special Agents. The facility will include a dormitory with 250 beds, eight classrooms, a cafeteria, warehouse and office space for the DEA training staff.

For years, the DEA and FBI have shared training facilities at the FBI Academy in Quantico. With the recent expansion of both agencies, and with increasingly complex training requirements for DEA Special Agents and other law enforcement officers conducting sophisticated drug investigations, the need for additional space became critical. In May 1991, a study was completed by the Department of Justice indicating that the best and most efficient way to satisfy the training needs of both the DEA and FBI was to pursue an expansion at Quantico. The academy will be constructed on land made available to the DEA by the United States Marine Corps, on whose military facility the FBI Academy is located.

DEA Administrator Thomas A. Constantine said that "This training facility is a dream come true for the DEA. We deeply appreciate the support of Attorney General Janet Reno who was instrumental in helping us obtain the funds for construction. The generous support of Congress during last year’s appropriations process allows the DEA to provide the kind of training to DEA employees and other law enforcement personnel that the American people deserve."