The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department is pleased to officially welcome six new sheriff’s deputies to its team.

At a traditional ceremony held Thursday in Santa Maria, the deputies were among 24 recruits to graduate from the prestigious Allan Hancock College Basic Law Enforcement Academy, Class No. 107.

Of those graduates, six were sponsored by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department. They are Cliff Cabasag, James Carovano, Robert DeBarge, Paul Lewis, Shane Moore and Anthony Nunez.

The rest of the graduating class included recruits sponsored by the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office, the Santa Maria Police Department and the UCSB Police Department.

In order to make it to graduation day, the recruits completed a rigorous 21-week program with more than 800 hours of instruction. As part of the demanding physical element of the training, the recruits endured more than 2,000 sit-ups over the five-month period. In terms of mental challenges, the recruits engaged in 48 learning domains on a wide variety of topics from firearms, to scenarios, to report writing and academic exams.

“I am proud of the dedication our six new deputies displayed over the last five months of intense law enforcement training, and I am excited for them to join our team, which is committed to protecting and serving the residents of Santa Barbara County,” Lt. Brian Olmstead of the Sheriff’s Training Bureau said.

The Sheriff’s Department wants to congratulate Cabasag for receiving both the Leadership Award and the Most Inspirational Award. Congratulations also to Lewis, who was honored with the Safe Driver Award, and Moore for earning the Physical Fitness Award.

The new sheriff’s deputies were sworn in by Undersheriff Don Patterson and received their sheriff’s deputy badges just prior to the graduation ceremony. They have two more weeks of in-house training followed by a period of field training.

— Kelly Hoover is a public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.