Sunday, August 11, 1996

Severity of Youth "Boot Camp" in Sweetwater works

By KEN ELLSWORTH
Staff Writer

SWEETWATER - They march daily in drill. Their heads are shorn to the skin weekly. They wear camouflage uniforms and highly polished boots. They speak in clipped and precise phrases, punctuated by "sirs" and "no sirs" and they are just boys, 13-16 years old.

They are not going to war, but they have been at war with their communities, their families and even themselves. Now they are juvenile soldiers, fighting for the right to return to society.

This is juvenile boot camp in Sweetwater. It is also known as the Challenge Program, at the R. Temple Dickson RECOR - Sweetwater Regional Juvenile Detention Center, and though life here is severe, it has its rewards - even the boys say so.

There is a reason for the severity. It works, said Tony Trevino, the facility's 23 year-old administrator. The Abilene native said recidivism rates are very low, as low as 22 percent, less than half of other state programs.

"This is a shock type program designed to divert kids from future offenses," said the soft-spoken Trevino. "And these are the street-wise kids here that this program is designed for. These are the toughest most hard-core kids we have. With the exception of murder, you name it, they've done it."

RECOR (taken from the words rehabilitation and correction), a private company, has operated the Sweetwater juvenile detention center for the past three years, but boot camp has been part of the rehabilitation program for just four months, Trevino said.

The bed capacity of the entire facility is 56. Boot camp capacity is 36. The other 20 beds are reserved for juveniles not involved in boot camp and who participate in intensive treatment designed for those with deep emotional problems. Right now the facility's population is 40, 30 of those in boot camp. A staff of 35 serves the juveniles, Trevino said.

Juveniles are sent to the facility through county juvenile courts. Most are sentenced to 12O days, the period of time recommended by the boot camp administrators. Depending on the time specified by the court, however, boot camp programs can be individually shortened, Trevino said.

A rude awakening greets juveniles who enter the boot camp program.

Young men enter the building for the first time through a heavily secured area, topped by concertina wire. In the reception area they are strip searched and personal belongings put aside. Their heads are shaved, and they are issued military clothing. The usual response to this initial part of the shock program is fear, Trevino said.

"When we do that we have just taken every bit of pride and eliminated it. But we do it in order to show them that it is not what you wear or what you have, but what you are that is important," Trevino said.

The usual boot camp image of a drill sergeant screaming obscenities does not apply, however, at RECOR, Trevino said.

"You will not see a drill sergeant yelling down their throats. We don't believe in that. Well, it does happen, but very rarely," Trevino said. "Instead, we are trying to instill pride and respect."

Discipline is carried out by instructors who often require offenders of the rules to do additional sit-ups or push-ups, he said. Or, the cadets, as the young men are called, may lose hard-gained privileges. Points based on merits or demerits are accumulated or taken away. Two merits will remove one demerit. All punishments are aimed at the individual. Punishment of a group for the offenses of individuals is not permitted.

The cadets' days are a whirl of activity from 6 a.m. until lights out at 9 p.m. In fact, Trevino said, of those 15 hours, only about 30 minutes are free time.

During the school year teachers from Sweetwater Independent School District teach academic courses at the institution. The rest of the time is spent on cleaning, inspections, study, eating, physical training, maintaining personal hygiene, drill and ceremony, group counseling, and individual counseling.

The cadets march in groups and with precision to and from all activities. At mealtimes they stand at attention with their trays until told to be seated. They sleep two to a room on bunks in plain concrete block cells. No talking is tolerated after 9 p.m.

Individual volunteers from the community meet with the cadets in the evenings. There are 18 such individual volunteers, called positive peer community coordinators, though Trevino said he wishes he had one volunteer for each of the 30 boot camp cadets.

"Many of these boys have never had a positive relationship with an adult. We try to provide that positive experience. It might just be playing cards with the kid," Trevino said.

No television is allowed during the cadets' entire stay, with the exception that individual cadets can be rewarded for good behavior with the privilege of watching a taped educational program. Good cadets may also be permitted to go into the community on work crews. Other rewards include gaining responsibility within the institution. Cadets can become squad leaders or dorm leaders.

The core of boot camp is discipline, reinforced by peer pressure, in all aspects of the cadet's life. At the heart of this discipline is the cadet's daily participation in drill and ceremony.

During each day's military drill, which takes about an hour, the cadets march in groups of about 16 on a concrete surface behind high wire fences topped by concertina wire. Instructors observe every movement, and every movement of the marching group is a response to precise instruction. Often, members of the community come to observe.

The drill exercises become lessons in discipline, teamwork, and pride.

"Drill is a very important part of the program. They are proud to show off what they know," Trevino said.

One of the cadets, age 17 and recently appointed as squad leader, said he believed in the program. On the outside, his offenses had included being an accessory to an attempted drive-by shooting.

Due to be released soon, he admitted in clipped military tones that he might not be ready but said, "Sir, I've learned more in here than I've learned in 17 years on the outside, sir," he said, sharply accenting the "sirs." He paused. "Sir, in the free world I had no one to show me the right way, sir."
He considered another question.

"Sir, yes sir," he said. "At first I was scared. They really rode me hard, but they did that because they really cared."