Operation Sheepdog
5th Cycle Begins August 2nd, 2010

By

Ryan Atkins, September 2009
Updated July 2010

Operation Sheepdog is a community service program provided by CrossFit Milwaukee geared towards the needs of the local law-enforcement community. Its intent is to spread awareness and implementation of the benefits of CrossFit training for active law-enforcement officers (LEOs) and military in the Milwaukee area. 

For three month cycles, volunteers from local departments are provided with FREE access to CrossFit training. Once they have completed 9 out of the 12 On-Ramp classes during their first four weeks of training, they become eligible for an additional 2 months of free access to our regularly scheduled group classes. During these sessions, participants learn a significant amount of knowledge regarding fitness, ranging from exercise mechanics, to programming, to dieting, to safety, among other topics. They are also, of course, subjecting themselves to some intense workout sessions and many have realized significant benefits (one can read this article for some specifics). The end result of their participation is that they have enough knowledge to not only continue the training on their own, but that they are also capable of sharing the information effectively with other officers*.

CrossFit already has established a strong track record with law-enforcement. Other agencies, such as the Colorado State Patrol and the Jacksonville Sherriff’s Office, have realized the benefits in safety in effectiveness that CrossFit has to offer (read more here). We at CrossFit Milwaukee are proud to offer this free service as our way of saying thanks to the local LEOs/military personnel for the sacrifices they make on a daily basis for the protection they offer the community.

To date, CrossFit Milwaukee has worked with hundreds of police officers and military members via this program. August 2nd will mark the beginning of our 5th cyle. Our intent is to continue to offer the free three month cycles as long as there is interest from the local LEO/military community, eventually covering all relevant organizations in the Milwaukee area. For more information about Operation Sheepdog or to register, please email ryan@crossfitmilwaukee.com. Only the first 10 people interested/qualified for the program will be allowed to attend for each cycle. However, we will start new rotations at the beginning of every month.

Operation Sheepdog derives its name from an article entitled  On Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs (From the book, On Combat, by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman).

To register for the upcoming cycle, please email ryan@crossfitmilwaukee.com.

 

*Operation Sheepdog provides a degree of knowledge, but not official certification. CrossFit HQ is the only authorized body to provide CrossFit training certifications. CrossFit Milwaukee will be hosting a CrossFit Level 1 Certification in June of this year: http://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=840411