The Texas Department of Public Safety welcomed 51 new Texas Highway Patrol troopers from Recruit Class A-2026 during a graduation ceremony Aug. 28 at Hill Country Bible Church in Cedar Park. The class is the department’s 182nd, according to a DPS news release.
The newly commissioned troopers will report to duty stations across Texas on Sept. 29, the department said, adding officers to a force that patrols both metropolitan corridors and the state’s most remote stretches of highway.
State Rep. Cole Hefner, who chairs the Homeland Security, Public Safety and Veterans’ Affairs Committee in the Texas House, delivered the keynote address. DPS noted that Hefner has a brother who graduated from the DPS Training Academy. “It is an honor to be today’s keynote speaker as we welcome Class A-2026 to the ranks of the Texas Highway Patrol,” Hefner said. “As the brother of a current Texas State Trooper, I am very familiar with all the sacrifices you have made – and will continue to make – as you protect and serve your fellow Texans.”
Public Safety Commission Chairman Steven P. Mach and Commissioners Nelda Luce Blair and Steven H. Stodghill attended, along with DPS Col. Freeman F. Martin, Lt. Col. Jason Taylor and other department leadership.
“Being a Texas State Trooper is more than wearing the badge – it is a commitment to serve with integrity, courage and dedication, no matter the circumstances,” Martin said. “These new Troopers will work many long nights that often turn into early mornings, making sacrifices to protect and serve the people of Texas.”
Recruits complete a 30-week in-resident Training Academy with more than 1,204 hours of instruction, the department said. Coursework covers criminal and traffic law enforcement, crash investigation, crisis intervention, use of force, criminal investigations, communications, cultural diversity, fitness and wellness, and emergency medical assistance, along with components of Tactical Emergency Casualty Care training that include trauma assessment, bleeding control and treatment of shock. Training closes with the Field Training Exercise, roughly 25 scenarios ranging from vehicle pursuits to compliant driver traffic stops.
Earlier in the week, the class took part in the traditional Legacy Run, a five-mile route that departed DPS headquarters early Wednesday morning and ended at the Texas State Capitol. DPS first held the run, originally an eight-mile route, in 2008 to mark completion of the academy, and recruits are accompanied by instructors, department leadership and often DPS retirees.
The class includes 39 men and 12 women, ranging in age from 21 to 58, according to DPS. Twenty are military veterans of the Army, Marines or Air Force, and 23 speak more than one language. The department said the ceremony can be viewed on the DPS YouTube page.