By Capt. Anthony L. Bucci
Task Force 134 Public Affairs Office
CAMP CROPPER, Iraq – Citizen Soldiers have always brought a little extra to the fight, from Concord Green in 1775 to Iraq in 2008. Sgt. 1st Class Perry Hopkins is one of those Soldiers who brought his civilian experience as a corrections officer to his military responsibilities of Detainee Operations at Camp Cropper, Iraq.
Hopkins serves with the 300th Military Police Brigade based out of Inkster, Mich. He has 16 years military experience, all but two in the Army Reserve. He also brings more than 14 years experience as a corrections officer, currently as a lieutenant for North Central Correctional Institution in Marion, Ohio.
He works in the brigade operations office managing day-to-day operations, specifically focusing on the detainee releases, transfers, pledges and movements. Additionally, he helps supervise and guide the 744th Military Police Battalion in their daily interaction with the detainees. To aid the military police assigned to detainee operations he developed a curriculum on interaction with detainees.
"[Detainees] deserve the same respect and level of treatment afforded to all human beings, which is why we treat all detainees with dignity and respect" said Hopkins.
"This treatment needs to be firm, fair, consistent and controlled," said Hopkins.
His experience in corrections – as well as his Bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Indiana University – has aided in his ability to educate people not familiar with corrections operations.
His curriculum, taught every month, has three main topics: Interpersonal Communication, Avoiding Manipulation and Situational Awareness. Each one of these blocks is addressed in separate 20-minute sessions.
"These courses are not meant to make an expert or master communicator. It provides another tool in their toolbox that they can pull out and use when they need it," said Hopkins.
Hopkins stresses the importance of knowing how to talk with the detainees, specifically through a language barrier. His advice to the guards is "lower and slower" – it is better to spend 20 minutes talking to a detainee in an attempt to diffuse a potential situation than to start yelling and escalate the tension immediately.
Most people are familiar with the concept of Interpersonal Communication, but the term "Avoiding Manipulation" is not as common outside the world of corrections. Essentially this is where the guard puts him or herself in a position to be manipulated or blackmailed into doing something for the detainee. It is easy to fall prey to this tactic because the detainee has nothing but time to observe and collect information to be used against the guards.
Hopkins focuses this block on being careful with what you say, where you say it and who is around to hear it. "Detainees are here 24 hours-a-day, seven days–a-week, they have nothing but time to observe and collect data about you. There are so many of them that they often become invisible – meaning you forget that they are there," said Hopkins.
Having a heightened sense of situational awareness is a key component in avoiding manipulation. Being keenly aware of what is going on, who is talking with whom or who seems to be exerting more influence is all part of the guard's situational awareness. Hopkins stresses to the guards to be cognizant of anything unusual – noticing something different, even the most innocuous action, can be the final piece to a much larger and more dangerous puzzle.
"If you see one thing that you are not sure of, report it," Hopkins said. "Too much information is always better than not enough information."
Hopkins' civilian experience was invaluable in creating this dynamic lesson plan of Interpersonal Communication, Avoiding Manipulation and Situational Awareness. Like many Reserve Soldiers, he makes the mission happen by combining the experiences he has gained from both his military and civilian backgrounds. This unique blend makes Sgt. 1st Class. Hopkins and those like him from the Army Reserve an indispensable part of the total force mission.
| Date Taken: | 07.04.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 07.18.2008 11:16 |
| Story ID: | 21612 |
| Location: | IQ |
| Web Views: | 267 |
| Downloads: | 230 |
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