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MILLINGTON, Tennessee – Correctional, or brig duty is among the smallest specialties in the Navy, but the Sailors serving as Navy Corrections Specialists serve a vital role as the front-line subject-matter security experts regarding offender management, entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring the public safety and well-being of prisoners, brig facility staff, and visitors.
“Unfortunately, in any society there is crime,” said Timothy Purcell, director of the Corrections and Programs Office (PERS 00D) at Navy Personnel Command (NPC). “The role of the correctional system is to ensure an offender’s presence for judicial actions (pretrial) and that the offender's sentence is carried out, whether it's time in jail or prison, probation, or community service (post-trial)”.
While the number of Sailors assigned to Navy Corrections at any given time is approximately 500, the specialty isn’t large enough to support a viable career path for a rating. Aligned under Shore Special Programs, Navy Corrections Specialists come from a variety of ratings, unlike their Army and Marine Corps counterparts, who have a specific military occupational specialty for corrections, or the Air Force, which employs its security forces personnel in short-term duty assignments.
In the Navy, confinement capabilities are located both ashore as Military Correctional Facilities (MCF) and at sea as afloat brigs. Ashore, there are two pre-trial MCFs (Jacksonville, Florida, and Yokosuka, Japan) which align under the installations where they reside. Pretrial MCFs provide installation-centric pretrial and short-term post-trial (up to 30 days) confinement support.
There are four (NPC) post-trial MCFs including Naval Consolidated Brig Charleston, South Carolina, and its detachment at Chesapeake, Virginia, and Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar, California, with its’ detachment at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. These facilities provide Department of Defense system-centric confinement capability.
Shore confinement facilities comprise three levels, depending upon sentencing: Level I, up to one year; Level II, up to 10 years; and Level III, in excess of 10 years.
There are 22 afloat brigs located aboard carriers and amphibious vessels that support a confinement capability. These primarily provide pre-trial and very short-term confinement (up to 30 days). Afloat, brig time is simple confinement and little else.
“Generally, corrections duty ashore is a three-year assignment,” Purcell said. “As corrections duty for enlisted members is a Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) vice a rating, Sailors typically only see one such assignment within their career. Depending upon rating, like aster-at-arms, Sailors with the Corrections NEC could also see correctional duty aboard a ship’s brig.”
No matter the sentence or facility, the Correctional Specialist maintains the day-to-day direct contact with and influence on offenders.
Brig duty is open to women, at all facilities, both ashore and afloat, Purcell said, and the shore brigs at Jacksonville, Chesapeake, Miramar, and Pearl Harbor are authorized to confine women. Of the approximately 500 Navy personnel assigned to corrections, 8 to 12 percent are women, such as Personnel Specialist 1st Class Ashley Supall from Rancho Cucamonga, California, who is on her second year of corrections duty.
“As a female staff member, I typically supervise the female prisoners,” she said. “The most challenging part of corrections in my opinion is knowing the crimes committed by some prisoners. As corrections specialists, we sometimes see the worst of people. Every day you have to remind yourself to remain impartial and do your job to the best of your ability.”
While the prevailing perception of offenders might be that offenders are nothing more than criminals, and those chosen to oversee them as glorified babysitters, several corrections specialists say that’s an oversimplification.
Chief Aviation Ordnanceman Mackenzie Lee of Lumberton, Texas, is on his second corrections tour, serving first at Navy Consolidated Brig Charleston and now with that facility’s detachment in Chesapeake. He said a senior leader changed his perception during initial corrections training.
“(He) asked me if I knew the difference between myself and a prisoner,” Lee said. “I was quick to respond, ‘I’m not a criminal.’ He replied, ‘While yes, that is true, it is not the answer. The true difference is one bad day.’ While some crimes are egregious, some crimes you may have done yourself. While enforcing rules and regulations and working to rehabilitate, you need to be open-minded and somewhat empathic.”
“Prisoners don’t get to leave and go home every day,” said Chief Fire Controlman (AEGIS) Erin Klus of Madison, New Jersey, who serves at Pearl Harbor. “I remind myself of this when a prisoner is agitated or frustrated. They are confined for a reason, but they are still human beings. If you treat someone with respect, are fair across the board, and firm with enforcing the rules, you can gain compliance from a challenging prisoner. It’s an exercise in patience and keeping control of your own emotions.”
Sailors who perform this crucial duty of corrections specialist must be physically fit, able to exercise proper authority, use discretion, communicate effectively, and manage both routine and unexpected situations as they arise, said Purcell, who in a 27-year military career, served correctional assignments with all four service branches from an E-2 corrections specialist to a W-5 corrections officer.
Following his active-duty service, he began a federal service career as a correctional administrator.
“Correctional specialists should possess good judgment,” he said. “Correctional staff must use both their training and common sense to quickly determine the best course of action and to take necessary steps to achieve a desired outcome. Interpersonal skills are critical.”
“It’s important to remember that these service members are ‘here as punishment’ and ‘not for punishment,’” said Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) 2nd Class Nikolas Miketinas of Dyer, Indiana. “They all took the same oath as we did and so maintain their military bearing ensuring that they are able to get ahold of their command where applicable is important to be maintained is something that is handled at all levels of the brig.”
There are misconceptions about the duty, including the belief that correctional facilities are mirrors of those portrayed in movies and television, and others.
“I think the movies gives them a complete unrealistic idea of some of the things that happens in the brig,” said Retail Service Specialist 1st Class Shivaughn Osborne of New York. “The brig has its challenges however, it’s a lot more organized and the prisoners are better behaved that what is portrayed in the movies or TV shows.”
While duties and responsibilities span an array of activities including sanitation, security, key and tool control, responsiveness, training and teamwork, the primary mission of Navy Correctional Specialists is the supervision and care of offenders assigned to Navy MCFs. And the standards are high. Navy post-trial correctional facilities are accredited with and adhere to national standards of the American Correctional Association.
Those selected for this duty who succeed become more valuable; not only to their parent commands, but also to any organization they join in the future.
“Successful correctional specialists develop leadership traits that will take them far in nearly any profession,” Purcell said. “These include excellent communication skills, teamwork, practical problem solving, decisiveness, resilience, selflessness, open-mindedness, dedication and commitment.”
There is always a need for personnel to fill both operation and support roles in the corrections community. Interested enlisted personnel should contact Shore Special Programs Branch at (901) 874-3872, or via email at Pers-4010d1_e3.fct@navy.mil. For more information, go to www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/enlisted/detailing/shorespecialprograms/Pages/default2.aspx
| Date Taken: | 04.27.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 04.27.2020 10:26 |
| Story ID: | 368539 |
| Location: | MILLINGTON, TENNESSEE, US |
| Web Views: | 4,220 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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