I remember when I was applying for my first job in law enforcement. I spoke with LEOs from many different agencies and asked a thousand questions. Truth be known, I probably drove them crazy! How much time do you spend out of the office? How much training do you get each year? What type of firearm do you carry? How is the culture? Do people stay for years or move on after a few years? I even asked about retirement benefits, go figure!

There was one question I did not ask and to this day, I cannot tell you why. “How much vacation do you get each year?” Looking back, that may have been the most important question for me to ask! The older I get, the more I realize what an important piece of information that was to me.

I know when you started working as a LEO, you…