The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP) recently celebrated the graduation of the 2024 Conservation Officer Cadet Class. These officers will now be assigned throughout the state to further the mission of conserving, enhancing, and protecting our state’s natural resources.

The Conservation Officer Cadet Class completed 24 total weeks of training. They completed 13 weeks at the Mississippi Conservation Officer Training Academy (MCTOA) and 11 weeks at the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officer Training Academy (MLEOTA). Throughout their training, the cadets learned important skills such as water survival tactics, hunter education, hunting incident investigations, firearms training and more.

Graduates include:

• Caleb Austin – Ripley, MS; assigned to Panola County
• Zackery Bagwell – Pontotoc, MS; assigned to Holly Springs National Forest
• Kaeleb Carithers – Ruth, MS; assigned to Lincoln County
• David Culbertson – Vicksburg, MS; assigned to Warren County
• DeVante Davis – Port Gibson, MS; assigned to Claiborne County
• JheVante Davis – Port Gibson, MS; assigned to Claiborne County
• Joshua Evans – Meadville, MS; assigned to Franklin County
• William Evans – Ackerman, MS; assigned to Carroll County
• Cole Galloway – Sandyhook, MS; assigned to Marion County
• Adam Haygood – Summit, MS; assigned to Amite County
• Richard Johnson – Ruth, MS; assigned to Lawrence County
• Chase Kennedy – Brandon, MS; assigned to Madison County
• Jacy Maher – Pattison, MS; assigned to Copiah County
• John McElwain – Falkner, MS; assigned to Tippah County
• Jonathan Pippen – Bay Springs, MS; assigned to Jasper County
• Mason Thomas – Enterprise, MS; assigned to Clarke County
• Billie Waltman – Grenada, MS; assigned to Rankin County
• Hayes Wood – French Camp, MS; assigned to Scott County
• Austin Wooldridge – Decatur, MS; assigned to Newton County

“We are proud of these officers for the hard work and dedication they demonstrated throughout their training. We wish them all a rewarding and safe career as they step into their roles protecting our state’s wildlife and natural resources,” said Col. Jerry Carter, MDWFP Chief of Law Enforcement.