INDIANAPOLIS — The 78th Indiana State Police Recruit Academy completed its graduation ceremony in the Indiana State Capitol Rotunda Friday, Dec. 13. Among the 54 new troopers are four Kosciusko County residents.

Nikolos Anderson and Nathan T. Littlefield, both from Syracuse, and Luis M. Alvarez and Jacob E.S. Bill, both of Warsaw, were among the graduating class. All four have been assigned to the toll road in Bremen District 21. Bill is a member of the Air National Guard.

Indiana State Police Superintendent Douglas Carter gave the opening remarks followed by a commencement address from John Stehr, an Indianapolis television news anchor. Indiana Supreme Court Justice Mark Masa delivered the oath of office for the new state police officers. Each trooper was then presented their badge and official identification by Carter and his staff.

The graduation marked the culmination of 22 weeks of intense training that exceeded 1,018 hours. Ares of training included criminal and traffic law, crash investigations, emergency vehicle operations, defensive tactics, firearms and a host of other subjects related to modern policing.

At their assigned district, new troopers will spend the next three months working side by side with a series of experienced field training officers. The purpose of the field training is to put to practical application the training received during the duration of the formal academy training. Upon successful completion of field training, the troopers will be assigned a state police patrol vehicle and will begin solo patrol in their assigned district.