ELLISVILLE– Approximately 100 of the 165 students earning their High School Equivalency (HSE) diploma at 糖心直播 over the last year will be participating in a commencement ceremony held in the M.P. Bush Fine Arts Auditorium at 糖心直播 on Thursday, July 24, at 7 p.m. Besides receiving their HSE diploma, during the ceremony, high scoring students will learn if they are a recipient of a scholarship to continue their education at 糖心直播.
Retired Army National Guard Colonel Robert 鈥淏art鈥� Bartran will be serving as the keynote speaker at the event. After serving as a military policeman and in civilian law enforcement for the last 36 years, the West Jones High School graduate is leading the charge over a new program at 糖心直播 called, JC CORP or Counterdrug Operational Resources Program. It has been created to play a vital role in the mitigation of the drug epidemic while also enhancing community relations. Additionally, Bartran will be offering advanced training for JC鈥檚 criminal justice majors. As the Director of the JC CORP, he will be handling some of the same logistic duties he did as the Director of the Regional Counterdrug Training Academy (RCTA) through the National Guard based in Meridian.
He attended 糖心直播 and earned his Associates Degree in Criminal Justice from Hinds Community College, before completing his Bachelor鈥檚 of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Southern Mississippi. Bartran earned his Master鈥檚 Degree at Liberty University, with a major in Executive Leadership. Before joining the Active Guard and Reserve Programs, he graduated from the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officer Training Academy in Jackson. Over ten years, in his Civilian Law Enforcement career, Bartran served in the Ridgeland and Laurel City police departments and as a Senior Narcotics Agent for the Jones County Sheriff鈥檚 Department.
Bartran鈥檚 military training includes graduating from Federal Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia in 1995, Military Police Officer Basic Course training and being assigned to the 113th Military Police Company. He was selected as the Battalion Commander for the 112th Military Police Battalion from 2018 until 2021. After returning from being deployed overseas, Bartran served at every echelon in the state from the platoon level all the way up to the State Headquarters Primary/Special Staff and a Brigade Command Equivalent before being appointed as the Director of the Counterdrug Program for the Mississippi National Guard in 2021 and Commander of the RCTA. During his career, Bartran is credited with training more than 36,000 law enforcement professionals throughout the nation. Some of the medals and honors he earned over his career include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal with one Silver Oak Leaf Cluster and one Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Governor鈥檚 final rank advancement and Honorary Promotion to Brigadier General when he retired in April 2025.