BREWER – For years, Lt. Perry Antone of the Brewer Police Department has been thinking about the FBI National Academy and how being a graduate from the school would advance his career.

Antone’s hope recently became a reality when he found out he was nominated and indeed would attend the school. He leaves in January for the 11-week course, held at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., the location of the FBI school.

“It’s not like boot camp – it’s kind of like college with physical training,” Antone said Monday. “They take the academic part and roll in the physical training.”

With his acceptance into the FBI program, Antone will follow in the footsteps of Brewer Police Chief Steven Barker and Capt. Dan Green, who both graduated from the FBI National Academy in the 1990s.

Barker said he is very proud of Antone and announced the news at the last Brewer City Council meeting.

“That type of training is very important to those who want to move through the administration in law enforcement,” Antone said. “They [Barker and Green] spoke about the experience and how much they benefited from it.”

According to the FBI Web site, “the curriculum focuses on leadership and management training and consists of courses relating to leadership development, behavioral science, law, communication, forensic science and health and fitness.”

Antone, who started in law enforcement in 1981 with the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department, decided last spring that he needed to make a few changes to get into the FBI program.

“I set some goals for myself, and one was physical conditioning,” the lieutenant said. “There was no way I would be accepted until I did some things.”

Those ‘things’ included dropping about 70 pounds over the last year.

“I dropped down to a weight that I haven’t been at since high school,” he said.

The Brewer officer now weighs in at 215 pounds and thinks he is better prepared for the physical challenges he will face at the academy.

Antone said he feels honored and extremely lucky to have been nominated and to be accepted into the school.

“I’m fortunate, I have to tell you,” he said. “They only select a few from each region. There are people from other countries who attend – that’s how sought after this training is.”

His long-term goal is to move up in the ranks. Antone said he’s perfectly happy where he is positioned on the administrative team in Brewer but hopes, with the FBI training, that when the time comes his name will top the list of candidates.

“One of my goals is to be at the next level,” he said. “Without developing yourself in your career, you can’t do that.”