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Photo courtesy of Joel Gaston
Vestavia Hills police Capt. Joel Gaston at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
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Photo courtesy of Joel Gaston
Vestavia Hills police Capt. Joel Gaston, third from left, with fellow participants at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, as they complete the "Yellow Brick Road" fitness challenge.
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Photo courtesy of Joel Gaston
Vestavia Hills police Capt. Joel Gaston, sixth from right, with fellow participants at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, as they take on the "Yellow Brick Road" fitness challenge.
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Vestavia Hills police Capt. Joel Gaston, right, shakes hands with FBI Director Kash Patel at his graduation ceremony from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
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Photo courtesy of Joel Gaston
Vestavia Hills police Capt. Joel Gaston, right, with Jake Garza of the San Antonio Police Deparmtent at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Gaston and Garza both celebrated their 50th birthdays while at the academy.
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Vestavia Hills police Capt. Joel Gaston rings a bell after completing the "Yellow Brick Road" fitness challenge at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
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Vestavia Hills police Capt. Joel Gaston at his graduation ceremony from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
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Vestavia Hills police Capt. Joel Gaston, at left, with fellow participants at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia., after a fitness run.
Vestavia Hills police Capt. Joel Gaston has completed the FBI National Academy’s leadership program, which involved 10 weeks of training on a U.S. Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia.
From late June to early September, Gaston received instruction on a variety of topics, from leadership to communication, officer wellness and resilience, leading at-risk employees, media communications and hostage negotiations.
The FBI National Academy is considered an elite opportunity for law enforcement officials around the world, with only the top 1% of law enforcement officials accepted.
Participants are allowed to choose most of their curriculum from 100 or so class options.
Gaston, who has more than 30 years of experience in law enforcement, said he was looking to use the opportunity as a chance to increase his knowledge in areas outside of his normal wheelhouse.
He’s had a lot of experience in patrol work, forensic science and narcotics and wanted to grow as a manager and leader to better help other officers, he said.
The class on officer wellness and resilience was beneficial in learning how to help officers maintain good health and mindsets so they’re well-prepared to handle critical incidents, he said.
And the class on leading at-risk employees gave tips on helping officers once they experience a crisis, such as alcoholism, addiction, divorce, death of a spouse or bankruptcy — anything that might have a negative impact on their job performance or attitude, he said.
Participants in the academy also are required to go through fitness training and challenges throughout their stay and at the end of the 10-week period go through a fitness challenge known as the “Yellow Brick Road,” which involves a 6.1-mile run through a hilly, wooded trail built by the U.S. Marines.
Photo courtesy of Joel Gaston
Vestavia Hills police Capt. Joel Gaston, third from left, with fellow participants at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, as they complete the "Yellow Brick Road" fitness challenge.
Along the way, the participants must climb over walls, run through creeks, jump through simulated windows, scale rock faces with ropes, crawl under barbed wire in muddy water, maneuver across a cargo net and more.
The academy experience as a whole was awesome, Gaston said.
“It was bigger and it was better than anyone could have ever described it or prepared me for,” he said. “In civilian law enforcement, that’s probably the highest honor that you can achieve — to be able to attend and graduate the National Academy. I am beyond blessed to be able to say that I had an opportunity to even attend, so I’m very thankful.”
Gaston grew up in Homewood and graduated from Homewood High School in 1993. He spent six years in the U.S. Army, working in military police and then went into civilian law enforcement in 1999. He spent a couple of years with the University of Alabama at Birmingham Police Department and came to the Vestavia Hills Police Department in 2002.
He worked as a patrol officer until 2011 and then had a stint as an evidence technician before being promoted to sergeant in patrol in 2013.
A year or two later, he led the forensic science division for several years before being promoted to lieutenant, again in patrol. He moved to administration in 2021, narcotics in 2023 and then was promoted to captain over the patrol division in 2024, where he oversees 64 officers.
Vestavia Hills now has had at least five of its officers go through the FBI National Academy, including former Chief Doug Jefferson decades ago, Brian Gilham in 2014, Johnny Evans in 2017, Shane Ware (the current chief) in 2019 and now Gaston this year.
Mayor Ashley Curry, the former special agent in charge of the FBI’s Birmingham field office, also served as a counselor at the FBI National Academy many years ago, Ware said.
Photo courtesy of Joel Gaston
Vestavia Hills police Capt. Joel Gaston, right, with Jake Garza of the San Antonio Police Deparmtent at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Gaston and Garza both celebrated their 50th birthdays while at the academy.
One of the best things about the academy is the opportunity to build connections with other law enforcement officers across the country and around the world, Ware said.
The challenges that law enforcement officers face usually are not isolated issues, so being able to build a network of people you can call for advice or help is invaluable, Ware said. They may have skill sets you don’t that help you solve a case or have experience with vendors of certain law enforcement products or technology that can benefit Vestavia Hills, he said.
Gaston said he, too, built some good connections with people at the academy, including an officer from the San Antonio Police Department. The two of them both celebrated their 50th birthday while at the academy and became very good friends, he said.
