(COLORADO SPRINGS) — A new batch of police officers are ready to answer the call for service in Colorado Springs, after a graduation ceremony was held on Thursday, Aug. 8.

The 78th recruit class includes 30 graduates who went through 26 weeks of intensive hands-on training, testing, and more. The graduates come from 10 different states, and nearly half have served or currently serve in the armed forces.

“I’m a Colorado native from Denver, but I live here currently,” said graduate Deaven Henderson. “It’s a beautiful city. I want to keep it safe, especially for, you know, my family and my friends around here. I want to be able to keep it a good community for people to move to.”

Chief of CSPD Adrian Vasquez said he is proud of the work these new recruits put in to learning the responsibilities of a law enforcement officer, and hopes they can contribute to keeping Colorado Springs safe as the city grows.

“It feels great. Part of the effort really is to make our community as safe as it can,” said Vasquez. “And we have to remember that our our city is growing so fast… and so we have to pay great attention to the number of options that we have to make sure that we’re really providing that safety for our citizens.”

Following Thursday’s graduation, the new officers will spend 15 weeks in field training before they begin responding to call son their own.