RICHMOND – On Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, the commonwealth graduated its 144th generation of Virginia State Troopers. The 94 new troopers will be presented with their diplomas during commencement exercises at 10 a.m. at the State Police Training Academy located at 7700 Midlothian Turnpike in North Chesterfield County. This is the largest graduating class of trooper-trainees since 2018.
The new troopers have received more than 1,300 hours of classroom and field instruction in more than 100 different subjects, including de-escalation techniques, strategies to assist people in mental health crisis, ethics and leadership, fair and impartial policing, constitutional law, emergency medical trauma care, and public and community relations. The Trooper-Trainees of the 144th Basic Session began their 28 weeks of academic, physical, and practical training at the Academy on June 25, 2025.
The soon-to-be graduates of the 144th Basic Session are from every corner of the commonwealth, as well as Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia, as well as the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Haiti, Jamacia, and Mexico. One of the graduating trooper-trainees, Trooper-trainee Logan M. Doss, is the great-grandson of Combat Medic Corporal Desmond Doss, who saved an estimated 75 men at the Battle of Okinawa in World War II. Corporal Doss’ life was the inspiration for the 2016 movie “Hacksaw Ridge.”…