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Young cadets learn lessons at boot camp

SHEFFIELD, Texas
August 4, 2006

Gunnery Sgt. Hartman, the foul-mouthed drill instructor from the movie "Full Metal Jacket," probably wouldn't feel at home at the Sheffield Boot Camp.

"Everybody circle up!" Curtis Simmons, who took over last month as commandant at Sheffield, said to the camps cadets.

After the youngsters are a bit slow in gathering around Simmons, 55, the commandant sends them back to where they were.

"When I say everybody circle up, you've got to circle!"

This time, the cadets bolt toward Simmons, gathering quickly in a semicircle.

This is the time that some might expect the commandant to launch into a tirade with the cadets. Instead, he makes an announcement.

"I'm in the process of getting two PlayStations," Simmons said. "We're going to play Madden."

While this may not meet the Hollywood depiction of a boot camp, Simmons said that his methods are just as effective. And that is helping him run this Texas Youth Commission facility that is primarily for first-time offenders in crimes like burglary, theft and parole violations.

Of 14 youth commission facilities, Sheffield has the only boot camp. To be eligible, cadets must have an IQ of at least 70 and meet physical-fitness requirements.

"Here at the boot camp, we do the same thing (as other youth facilities), but we take a military stress to it," Simmons said. "We get the best of the best."

In order to play the video game, cadets will have to remain in good standing. A minor rule violation keeps them out of a game. A serious offense and they are gone for the season.

"We don't tolerate abuse _ physical, verbal or mental abuse," Simmons said. "We raise our voices but don't ridicule." The military-style program at Sheffield is designed to teach resocialization, not rehabilitation.

"If you come from a neighborhood where everybody steals cars, and you don't steal cars, you're the crazy one," Simmons said. "If you're rehabilitated, you steal cars."

Redeveloping the cadets' way of thinking is what will be necessary, Simmons said.

While cadets at Sheffield are expected to take part in traditional boot camp exercises like pushups, jumping jacks and crunches, Simmons said many of them enjoy that.

"In this generation, everybody wants to be buff," he said. "We have no problem with that."

The cadets currently range between ages 15 and 19, Simmons said.

If the cadets do well in keeping their dormitories clean and excel in school, Simmons rewards them. He recently had a "water day," in which portable swimming pools were brought in to the facility in the arid southeast corner of Pecos County about 100 miles south of Odessa.

So far, cadets appear to be warming up to their new commandant.

"We're doing more together to be able to do more activities," said a cadet from the Dallas suburb of Grand Prairie who was sent to Sheffield for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. "Everyone is starting to straighten up and show discipline."

The cadet, who has been at Sheffield for five months, said parts of the resocialization process are tough. "You have to memorize a lot of stuff and say it to your case worker," he said.

While he does plan to make changes, Simmons said that most would be popular with cadets.

Among his first orders of business will be putting grass down on the boot camp's yard. Simmons would like to have adequate fields for the cadets to play soccer and baseball.

"I'd like to see them fly kites," he said. "But these are guys. I don't think they'd like that."

He would also like to have cadets more involved in the community. Marching in parades and camping offsite are among the activities he envisions.

Motivational speakers are also welcome. Simmons is looking for figures from politics to the military to sports.

"Sometimes you taste medicine, and it tastes bad, but it's good for you," Simmons said. "Sometimes you taste cherry-flavored medicine, and it tastes good, and it's good for you. I try to do both."

Cadets are expected to keep their bunk areas spotless, Simmons said. They are also expected to do well in school.

The Sheffield Boot Camp's original building was the city's elementary school before the boot camp opened in 1995. Now, education remains a major part of the daily regiment.

After waking at 5 a.m., cadets are in class from 7 a.m. to noon. They study history, math, English and science. Science teacher Sherry Davidson has been teaching for 16 years, the last two at Sheffield. She is grateful for the time she spends with the cadets.

"This is the best job I've ever had," she said. "The kids are some of the smartest kids I've ever had."

"They've just made mistakes," Davidson said. "I've never been here with a kid who is just hopeless."

Davidson takes joy in seeing the cadets improve during their time at boot camp.

"Some of these kids have never had any discipline," she said. "Some are their own parents. It's a relief to some extent that they get to be here. They don't have to worry about where their next meal comes from."

Davidson recently received a call from a former student. He had just been promoted to a supervisor position with an insulation crew, making $20 an hour.

"In general, it's not always easy, but I have faith in them," Davidson said. "That they're strong and intelligent and they can overcome difficulty."

Sheffield is modeled after a boot camp in New York, Simmons said. That camp used a therapeutic approach that differed from a military style.

"We break them down in a way that builds self-esteem," Simmons said. "We ask, 'Why did they do what they did?' We're very confrontational, but you won't hear the staff yelling."

Simmons may have chosen a basketball scholarship at the University of Portland over time in the service, but some members of his staff were in the military.

Vicente Martinez served 15 years in the military, 10 on active duty in the Army. He is now an administrative assistant at Sheffield.

"It kind of reminds me of U.S. Army basic training camp," he said. "Not the old version, but the updated version. Especially when it comes to inspections and the way they wear their uniforms."

Martinez said the camp makes cadets aware of things they take for granted.

"Here they teach you small things in detail," he said. "And the whole big picture comes into place."

Jane Harber, Sheffield's community relations coordinator, said that Simmons' strategy is right up her alley.

"The way he handles it, I am so impressed," she said. "He inspires these kids.

"He tells them, 'Here's what I want to do. Here's what I want you to do,'" Harber said. "'But it's going to cost you. I don't want your money. It's going to cost you your behavior."