Troopers want you to join "The Long Grey Line"

NEW YORK– The New York State Troopers are again looking to fill their ranks and signups for their exam will end this December – a test that most likely won’t be given for another two years.

To sign up for the exam or check your eligibility, go to www.troopers.state.ny.us or call 561-7400 for details. The last date to sign up is Dec. 1 and exams will begin in early spring.

A trooper’s starting salary is $50,374 with full benefits, and after 20 years of service a retirement plan is offered.

The agency holds the exam every two or four years, depending on a number of factors, including increased demands and attrition.

“It is a paramilitary structured organization, so you must be able to take orders, follow a chain of command and yet be independent, self motivated and able to handle all kinds of situations alone,” said local Station Commander Sgt. Elizabeth Wonka.

“With over 4,900 sworn members, and more than 1,100 non-sworn employees, the New York State Police provides a myriad of special services that include: aviation, dedicated interstate patrols, canine patrols, SCUBA, counter terrorism, crime analysis, forensic sciences, forensic crime laboratory, commercial vehicle enforcement, mobile response team (similar to SWAT), narcotics enforcement teams, violent felony warrant squad, marine unit, crisis negotiation teams, accident reconstructionists, drug recognition experts, mobile command post, major crimes unit, auto theft unit, firearms tracing unit, hazardous materials enforcement, and computer crimes unit,” said the agency in a release.

Wonka has served the New York State Police for over 24 years. She has seen her fair share of experiences including being sent to New York City in response to the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, taken part in State Police raids in Buffalo, New York City, Newburgh, Schenectady, Ithaca and Binghamton. She also worked two details with State Senator Hoffman’s civil rights group and escorted specially selected high school students to Mississippi so they could study the history of civil rights.

Wonka said she enjoyed walking the “Long Grey Line.”

“Most people assume it’s just in relation to the color of our uniform, but the color is more importantly a metaphor for the line between right and wrong, truth and injustice, crime and the law. Troopers are from all walks of life and we’ve taken our experiences with us, we know the world isn’t black and white, and we know in order to be a truly effective police officer you have to operate in the gray area. That’s really what our job is all about, our ability to perceive and act.”

Wonka said she had a common childhood interest in becoming a police officer. She had a “disturbing and bizarre experience” as a teenager at her home in Niagara Falls. She was threatened by an armed attacker just outside her home early one morning. She was able to talk her way out of the encounter and friends and family advised her to not go out alone any more.