Fourteen cadets from the Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation Department Boot Camp Program graduated on Wednesday, April 27th, from Phase 1 of their training. The Honorable Lody Jean, Circuit Court Judge, served as Keynote Speaker during the ceremony.
This was the first Boot Camp graduation ceremony to be held in person after two years of virtual graduations on Zoom due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 14 graduating cadets from Platoon 21-4 are young men between the ages of 18 and 26 who are currently in custody and were sentenced to the Boot Camp program. They now move on to the next phase of their training.
The program, highly lauded for its success rates, includes a rigorous, military-style schedule along with special educational and orientation programs designed to give cadets the tools needed to successfully re-enter the community, with the hope and likelihood that they will not re-offend in the future.
“It was an honor to speak at this year’s Boot Camp graduation. The Boot Camp program is unique to Miami-Dade, and I am very proud of my own four graduating cadets. I wish them all much success,” said Judge Jean, who presides over the cases of four of the graduates.
Circuit Court Judge Carmen Cabarga also attended in support of her own graduate.
Photos courtesy of the Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation Department.