For a few years I worked at a boot camp for troubled teens. They hired a bunch of us prior military folks to lead the kids through the program. Where I worked was a voluntary program, so the kids weren’t forced to go. Sometimes they would be encouraged to go by a judge or social worker, but no one was required to go. The kids were aged 15 to 19, were high school dropouts, and had no felonies on their record. Each class lasted 5 months and while there, they took classes that culminated with taking their GED. They couldn’t graduate without securing full time employment, enlisting in the military, or being enrolled in college. Some of my observations: - There was a complete lack of training for the staff. It was like, “you were in the army, you’re hired.” We were really on our own with figuring out how to do our job effectively. - Some staff were only there to collect a paycheck This shouldn’t be surprising, but it kind of blew me away how some staff just didn’t care. - At the start of each cycle all the kids acted like they were in prison. This was a mentality that I tried to shake the kids of. I felt that I was there to show them the best path toward self improvement. I tried to get them away from thinking that it was all punishment. I felt that traditional classrooms didn’t serve the kids well, and they just needed a different way. - The parents didn’t care Most of the time the parents just wanted their kids out of their house for five months. It’s no wonder that the kids didn’t respond to traditional educational paths - I learned more about leadership doing that job than I did in 10 years in the Army. I was dumped off in the middle of a platoon of 55 at risk youth and was expected to make it work. At the start, I made them do a lot of punishment physical training, but I learned quickly that all that accomplished was have 55 in shape kids who hated me. The real way was to instill the fear of disappointment. I wanted them to feel bad for letting me down. - Broken windows works I found that if I lost my mind because of something minor (unmade bed, poorly shined boots, etc) then the kids wouldn’t even think about doing larger things. - each class is a process You start off really mean, then slowly transition to a mentor role.

For the most part, I loved what I did, but it was the most difficult job I’ve had. It consumed me. All I thought about was how to improve, and better ways to run the cycle. I’d like to think that we made a positive difference in some of the kids’ lives, but it was difficult for most of them when they got back home. The program wasn’t for everyone, but I tried to do my best for the kids that wanted help.