Sheriff Crystal Cline Returns to Warren County After Graduating from FBI National Academy

After 10 weeks away, Sheriff Crystal Cline is back in Warren County—and she’s bringing new leadership tools, national experience, and a bright yellow brick that represents one of the highest honors in law enforcement training.

Cline recently completed the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, a highly selective program held at the Marine Corps base. Fewer than 1% of law enforcement officers across the country are accepted into the academy, which blends academics, physical fitness, leadership development, and emotional resilience.

“I was in Quantico, Virginia, on the Marine Corps base at the FBI National Academy,” said Cline. “Less than 1% of law enforcement across the nation gets accepted into this program.”

She originally applied years ago with support from then Front Royal Police Chief Khale Magalis, who also graduated from the academy. Delays related to scheduling and COVID-19 pushed back her attendance, and after running for sheriff, she wasn’t sure it would be possible. But earlier this year, she found a window.

“We figured out a time after budget that these 10 weeks would be a perfect time that I’d be able to go,” she said.

Cline says the training wasn’t about basic policing—it was about personal growth, leadership, and learning how to navigate the modern challenges facing law enforcement agencies.

“I took five graduate courses there and they will transfer over to UVA so I can continue my master’s,” she explained. “It was about leadership. It was about police imaging, the image of law enforcement today. It was about critical decision-making, the psychology of leadership.”

Physical training played a central role as well, including preparation for the academy’s legendary “Yellow Brick Road” challenge. To qualify, Cline had to pass strict fitness benchmarks.

“Just to qualify to go to the National Academy, I had to be under a certain time for the mile. And for women, it was 11 minutes and 29 seconds.”

By week eight, she had shaved more than a minute off her run time.

“I had improved my time by a minute and six seconds,” said Cline. “That’s how much focus was on fitness and wellness through the class.”

The culminating event—a 6.1-mile obstacle course designed by the U.S. Marines—is where she earned her yellow brick.

“It’s the same obstacle course that the Marines do right there on the Marine base,” she said. “You had 254 of us students out there running, but you also had a whole group of Marines doing the same obstacles right next to us.”

Cline was one of only 26 women in a class of 254 and the only sheriff in attendance.

“You walk in on that first day—there is no rank. You’re all recruits,” she said. “I was the only sheriff in the class. That made its rounds… it was fun.”

Beyond the academy’s rigorous schedule, Cline says one of the most valuable parts was the opportunity to reflect on who she is as a leader and where she wants to take the Warren County Sheriff’s Office next.

“We talked a lot about what makes you the leader you are today,” she said. “Whether that be an incident that happened in the last five years, ten years, maybe it was childhood— all of these things that just pile up to make you who you are today.”

She admits she wishes this training had come earlier.

“I do wish that I had this training prior to coming on board January 1st of ‘24. I think it would have helped with that transition from police department to sheriff,” said Cline. “These classes would have really helped me with that transition.”

Looking ahead, she’s focused on building a supportive leadership culture throughout the office.

“It’s more about enabling and empowering the staff,” she said. “Even at the boots-on-the-ground level… there’s a lot that I can be doing as sheriff to move them in the right direction in their career and actually make them want to stay in this career.”

The pressures of law enforcement, especially on younger recruits, are not lost on her.

“We get a lot of young recruits that are in their early 20s,” Cline said. “These are pretty major decisions that you have to make every day in a split second… and then you have to have confidence.”

Cline believes a big part of developing confident officers is pairing them with strong mentors—sergeants, lieutenants, and captains—who can support good judgment under pressure.

Since taking office, Cline has also made community engagement a priority—something that’s reflected in her frequent appearances at public events, school visits, and even dunk tanks.

“I do think that community is very important,” she said. “The relationship between law enforcement and the community is paramount to keeping Warren County as safe as possible.”

She emphasized the importance of giving young people positive interactions with law enforcement through programs like the Police Explorers and PALS, which she helped expand.

“The Police Explorers—it is geared towards older kids and young adults. The PALS program is for the younger section,” Cline explained. “Whether it be painting or biking or hiking or whatever we come up with—fishing. It’s partnering there.”

She also drew inspiration from a Philadelphia program she saw during a class trip.

“They were in uniform,” said Cline of the Philadelphia Explorers. “They assisted in giving us the history of everything downtown Philadelphia. They were stopping traffic… the hardest working group of kids that I had seen.”

She plans to connect with that program and model parts of it in Warren County.

“We’re getting ready to do the Citizens Academy,” she said, noting her plan to give opening remarks. “We are getting ready to start the Warren County Sheriff’s Office Foundation… that can just spread the word on all the good things that we’re doing and do some fundraising.”

And although budgets are tight, she believes the long-term savings from prevention-focused efforts are worth every penny.

In the end, Cline says success depends on relationships, not just between officers and citizens, but across the entire community.

“It takes a whole village. It takes a whole county and a community to do that,” she said. “We want to continue and build that—and that’s the goal.”