Wiscasset Police Chief Troy Cline has returned from Tampa, Fla., with an award honoring his national-level training in leadership.

He earned the “Trilogy Award” by taking three week-long courses since 2009, through a nonprofit that trains law enforcement leaders from around the United States. Alumni of an earlier, Federal Bureau of Investigation training program, formed the organization that provides the training and gives out the award.

“I am pretty proud to have gotten it, because it takes a lot of hard work,” Cline, 47, said in an interview at the Wiscasset police station on May 13.

The conference in early May also gave Cline a chance to learn even more tools to help him with the chief’s job he took in August 2012. He attended a presentation by former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, on working with the news media; and one by Watertown, Mass., police, on the capture of one of the Boston bombing suspects in 2013.

That talk got into the importance of multiple agencies working cooperatively, Cline said. “It doesn’t matter which uniform you’re wearing. What matters is that you’re protecting people.”

The presentation reinforced his opinion that the law enforcement agencies in Lincoln County have good working relationships with one another.

Cline said continued training helps him keep up with trends in strategies that can help him as a leader inside the department and out at a scene, interacting with citizens in an emergency.

“Leadership is understanding human behavior, and understanding what motivates people, what drives people to do things,” he said.

The award is from FBI-LEEDA (Law Enforcement Executive Development Association). The organization has the FBI’s permission to use its moniker but has no formal connection to the federal agency, FBI-LEEDA’s executive director, Charles Robb, said on May 13.

Asked about the significance of the award Cline earned, Robb said, “It shows a commitment to excellence, a commitment to lifelong learning, and a commitment to bettering the community and better serving the community.”

Cline is now getting additional training, in a three-month program through the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

Before becoming Wiscasset’s police chief, Cline supervised five sergeants and 15 other officers as a police lieutenant in Hooksett, N.H. He started the “Trilogy” coursework while there, and completed the rest of the training after coming to Wiscasset.