Hearing the iconic introduction “Hi, I’m Chris Hansen” has been the beginning of the end for many alleged child predators and human traffickers around the country for the last two decades. Hansen, made famous by his “Dateline NBC” series “To Catch A Predator,” has worked with law enforcement agencies all over the country and, usually, those who come face to face with him wouldn’t want to brag about the encounter.

However, those training to become military police (MP) soldiers at Fort McClellan are a rare few who will get to brag about their meeting with Hansen after a visit organized by cadre at the schoolhouse earlier this month.

“This was just a really great opportunity for them to get to speak with somebody who’s been involved in law enforcement for so long and a side of it that’s not really talked about often,” said Sgt. 1^st Class Mark Moon, a senior instructor with the 1^st Military Police 200^th Regiment.

Moon, in his civilian job as the sheriff of Blount County, has worked with Hansen on several predator stings over the last year. He felt that meeting and speaking to Hansen would be a powerful reminder to the future MPs what they may have to deal with as military law enforcement officers.

During Hansen’s visit, he met with the trainees and cadre, took questions and photos, signed autographs and spoke about the adoration he has for military service members and anyone who puts on a uniform in service to their community or nation.

“I think it’s important to come down and talk to groups like this to pay respect for what they do every day for our country,” Hansen said. “Every time I speak to a group, I get something out of it, and I think I get more out of it than the folks whom I speak to, so this is important to me.”

Chris Hansen, made famous by his “Dateline NBC” series “To Catch a Predator,” meets with soldiers training to become Military Police officers at Ft. McClellan. (Staff Sgt. Jaccob Hearn / U.S. Army National Guard)

Chris Hansen, made famous by his “Dateline NBC” series “To Catch a Predator,” speaks with soldiers training with the 1st Military Police 200th Regiment about his two decades of experience combating human trafficking and child predators in America. Hansen also answered questions about his work and gave his insight into the minds and outlooks of the alleged child predators and human traffickers caught in his sting operations over the years. (Staff Sgt. Jaccob Hearn / U.S. Army National Guard)

Chris Hansen, made famous by his “Dateline NBC” series “To Catch a Predator,” speaks with soldiers training with the 1st Military Police 200th Regiment about his two decades of experience combating human trafficking and child predators in America. Hansen also answered questions about his work and gave his insight into the minds and outlooks of the alleged child predators and human traffickers caught in his sting operations over the years. (Staff Sgt. Jaccob Hearn / U.S. Army National Guard)

Chris Hansen, made famous by his “Dateline NBC” series “To Catch a Predator,” speaks with soldiers training with the 1st Military Police 200th Regiment about his two decades of experience combating human trafficking and child predators in America. Hansen also answered questions about his work and gave his insight into the minds and outlooks of the alleged child predators and human traffickers caught in his sting operations over the years. (Staff Sgt. Jaccob Hearn / U.S. Army National Guard)

Staff Sgt. Aaron Bogdanovich, originally an infantryman who is now retraining to become an MP with the 128^th MP Company in Huntsville, said it was surreal meeting a celebrity and felt the visit was a well-deserved break from the classroom and training.

The visit wasn’t entirely social as the soldiers and Hansen spoke candidly about the reality of human trafficking in America and the ongoing threat of child predators still prevalent in online spaces today. Hansen also answered questions about his work and gave his insight into the minds and outlooks of the alleged child predators and human traffickers caught in his sting operations over the years.

“Chris obviously cares about this,” Bogdanovich said. “He’s dedicated a good chunk of his professional career to it. It’s encouraging to see that there are individuals outside of law enforcement who are dedicated to fighting this.”

Hansen warned that over the years it hasn’t slowed down and they still have large numbers of men, from all walks of life, who end up in his and law enforcement partners’ predator investigations.

“I think the takeaway of what we do with our takedown investigations is to be proactive, and the law enforcement partners with which we work are proactive,” Hansen said. “They want to send a message to their community that ‘we’re not going to stand this behavior anymore,’ and I think there’s a lot of applications for that attitude in the military.”

Chris Hansen, made famous by his “Dateline NBC” series “To Catch a Predator,” poses with the training instructors with the 1st Military Police 200th Regiment at Fort McClellan. (Staff Sgt. Jaccob Hearn / U.S. Army National Guard)

Chris Hansen, made famous by his “Dateline NBC” series “To Catch a Predator,” speaks with soldiers training with the 1st Military Police 200th Regiment about his two decades of experience combating human trafficking and child predators in America. Hansen also answered questions about his work and gave his insight into the minds and outlooks of the alleged child predators and human traffickers caught in his sting operations over the years. (Staff Sgt. Jaccob Hearn / U.S. Army National Guard)

Chris Hansen, made famous by his “Dateline NBC” series “To Catch a Predator,” speaks with soldiers training with the 1st Military Police 200th Regiment about his two decades of experience combating human trafficking and child predators in America. Hansen also answered questions about his work and gave his insight into the minds and outlooks of the alleged child predators and human traffickers caught in his sting operations over the years. (Staff Sgt. Jaccob Hearn / U.S. Army National Guard)

Chris Hansen, made famous by his “Dateline NBC” series “To Catch a Predator,” speaks with soldiers training with the 1st Military Police 200th Regiment about his two decades of experience combating human trafficking and child predators in America. Hansen also answered questions about his work and gave his insight into the minds and outlooks of the alleged child predators and human traffickers caught in his sting operations over the years. (Staff Sgt. Jaccob Hearn / U.S. Army National Guard)

Chris Hansen, made famous by his “Dateline NBC” series “To Catch a Predator,” meets with soldiers training to become Military Police officers at Ft. McClellan. (Staff Sgt. Jaccob Hearn / U.S. Army National Guard)

Chris Hansen, made famous by his “Dateline NBC” series “To Catch a Predator,” accepts a gift of appreciation from Sgt. 1st Class Mark Moon, a senior instructor with the 1st Military Police 200th Regiment, during his visit with the soldiers training to become MP officers at Fort McClellan. (Staff Sgt. Jaccob Hearn / U.S. Army National Guard)

Bogdanovich, who works in civilian law enforcement outside the Guard, said talking to Hansen was an eye opener for him and the other trainees.

“It’s these particular types of crimes, especially sexual crimes towards minors that no one wants to talk about because it’s dirty and awkward, but it’s real life, it’s happening everywhere and we need to deal with it,” Bogdanovich said.

“We want the best training for the soldiers who choose to transition out of their former occupation here,” Moon said. “Bringing a celebrity like Chris in might not be something typically done, but I’m confident that all of our MPs here learned something valuable.”