Training & Preparation

The Caisson Unit attempts each year to spend hundreds of hours training. These opportunities are vital to our success and are highly important towards our development.

The team members are all North Carolina State Troopers. They live and work in different locations across our state. Most of the Troopers work the road full time, while some are assigned to different specialized operations within the Highway Patrol. Training weeks are allotted each year for the unit.

Typically, training weeks are 4 days long and are scheduled once every 8 weeks. However, these allotments are solely based on the needs of the Highway Patrol. For 2023, the team has only been allotted 16 training days to practice for the entire year. This is a reflection of current Trooper shortages across the state. The team depends on these trainings for growth and are crucially important. When possible, the team practices in different locations throughout our state. This allows the horses to be exposed to many different environments and it allows opportunities for other departments to participate along with the unit.