Why are all government agents, uniformed and otherwise, always emphasizing the greatness of their training, which alone enables them to accomplish their assigned task so magnificently, courageously, and effectively? It's a message to the non-agents: don't think, do what you are told, obey the state.

UPDATE from Dave Heleniak:

I have an alternative explanation for why training is always hyped.  It is part of the religion of democracy.

Within the religion of democracy, just as within any religion, there are various cults.  One of the cults of democracy is the title of a book, the cult of the Presidency.

There are two cults of democracy that seem at first to be in conflict, the cult of equality and the cult of the expert.  In areas such as the monetary policy and foreign affairs, we non-experts are told by the politicians and the media that we couldn't possibly begin to understand the intricacies involved and how to best manage them.  But doesn't that conflict with Biden's recent speech in which he said we are all equal?  Ah, that's where the cult of education comes in.  The cult of education resolves the seeming contradiction.  Through education/training, people equal to you and me receive special knowledge that we could have gotten ourselves if we had gone through the same education/training.

UPDATE from Derek Hart:

I think Dave Heleniak is right on the money. It is validation of ‘special-ness’. Doctors can’t take seriously the diagnostic guesses of their patients, no matter how well-informed, because they haven’t been to med school etc. Police can’t take seriously the opinions, suggestions, or objections of the public, because they haven’t been trained in the fine points of police procedure. (They use special language to reinforce this notion, also.) The simile extends to any area, I think.

Update from Michael Iamaio:

Whenever I hear someone tell me about his "training," I always think: "Isn't 'training' something that one does to an animal?"