Work Week

Work Week

During our fifth week of boot camp we had work week.  Work week was when you were assigned a job, the supposition being that it would help prepare you for the different jobs in the fleet.  I was assigned to work in the brig.  This had nothing to do with what my future job would be, but I thought it could be interesting.

My fellow work week recruits, assigned to the brig, and I were but in a large barracks.  A section in the back of the barracks was walled off with a single door.  In this area, several prisoners were placed to be under our supervision.  We had to escort the prisoners to appointments, keep them under observation, and generally act as baby sitters.  If we believed anything untoward was developing we were to get help from the police immediately. 

On my second night of guard duty I was awakened by a crash, a curse, and a man’s yell for help.  In my younger days when I heard a scream or something of the sort, I would rush headlong for the sound, to try and help.  Over the years, I have learned to proceed with a little more caution.

When I heard the commotion, I jumped out of my bunk and ran to the confinement room.  I opened the door and started to enter.  I don’t know if I sensed movement, or unconsciously saw something from the corner of my eye.  At any rate, I quickly ducked. 

A chair crashed against the door frame, near where my head had been a moment before.  The prisoner area was an open bunk room, which had exploded into a full blown brawl.  The recruit guard took one look at the open door and jumped through it.  I quickly followed.

I slammed the door behind me.  It could only be opened from the outside.  Someone had called for the police.  We waited and let them beat on each other, until the police arrived.

One of our duties was to take the prisoners to assigned punishment.  The Navy’s punishment included what was referred to mini and full motores.  These were sessions where the prisoners worked out with prop rifles.  These rifles probably only weighed about 15 lbs., but imagine holding it over your head or in front of your body, while running in place, for anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour.  I have seen men drop over in sheer exhaustion during or after one of these episodes.  One thing was clear to me, I never wanted to be on the receiving end of one of these sessions.

It didn’t take long to discover that the female prisoner’s brig was on the other side of our barracks wall.  There was a way for the guards to get to one side from the other.  It was a ill kept secret and some of the guards used it to make hook-ups. 

Boot camp was a very lonely time for the recruits, and the temptation to take advantage of some freely offered companionship was great.  The downside was, if you got caught taking advantage of said opportunity, you would go from guard to prisoner.  I did not think the reward was worth the risk, but four of my fellow recruit guards did.  They quickly went from guard to prisoner.

The week ended and my time as a brig guard ended, but the memories of the week is indelibly etched in my mind.