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| The Basics of
Behavior Analysis
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Behavior Analysis in the Navy
Overview of Military Training
When I was in the Navy I was stationed on a nuclear
powered aircraft carrier. This was a big ship. It was
like a miniature city at sea with five to six thousand
people on board. We had a fire department, a church,
a library and an airport in our city. I worked in the
department responsible for operating and maintaining the nuclear reactors. We provided the utilities for the ship: water,
electricity, steam and waste disposal (oh, and propulsion). This was a job I
loathed so much that I jumped at every opportunity to be assigned to a
temporary position with the ship's security force; our police department.
One of the daily duties of the security force was supervising personnel who
get in trouble bad enough that the commanding officer assigns them
sentences of confinement to the ship (Restriction) and Extra Duty. The
security patrolman served both as patrolmen and as wardens.
A Little Background
The infractions typically committed by members of the ship's personnel to
warrant restriction are such things as unauthorized absence, failure to follow
orders, underage drinking, driving while intoxicated, fighting and drug use.
As part of their sentence, these folks are required to stand for uniform
inspections at appointed times throughout the day. They are graded with
marks indicating "Unsatisfactory", "Satisfactory", "Good" or "Excellent" on
their overall appearance including parameters such as clean shave, polished
shoes, ironed uniforms, correct insignia and so forth.
They are also assigned to live in a living space set aside for them. They are
required to keep this living space clean and in good repair. Finally, for their
Extra Duty assignments, they are "checked out" to various supervisors in
other departments on the ship to do any undesirable jobs the supervisor
needs done. These jobs could be anything from stripping and waxing tile
floors to chipping and painting rusty parts of the ship to cleaning residue out
of the bilge left by waste water. All of this is done in addition to the regular
duties of their jobs in their own departments.
Failure to comply with these requirements, such as frequently failing uniform
inspections or tardiness, may result in the restricted person being placed on
report, which means he or she will be sent to the commanding officer for
further sentencing of non-judicial punishment; assignment to the brig,
possibly for three days of eating nothing but bread and water, or an "other
than honorable" discharge from military service.
In addition to the periodic inspections, personnel on restriction are
constantly under the scrutiny of anyone in a position of authority. Any
member of the security force or anyone with rank may reprimand a
restricted person for any infraction. If the security patrolman wishes, he can
place the restricted person on report to have his punishment increased by
the commanding officer.
The Problem
This program was designed to be punitive rather than corrective. Just like
the civilian criminal justice system, it was meant to be a recourse paid to
the offender. Since he committed an infraction, he deserves to suffer, or so
the logic goes. Little consideration is given to the future behavior of the
"offender". Plus, the program's design occasioned many opportunities for
restricted personnel to suffer abuse and neglect.
First, uniform inspections were very poorly mishandled in two ways. One,
the patrolman conducting subsequent inspections was never the same
person. If a restricted member was cited for a wrinkled uniform in the
morning and told by the inspector to iron it by noon, for example, he could
show up for the noon inspection in the same wrinkled uniform knowing that
he would be inspected by a different person. This allowed restricted
personnel to plead with the inspector for higher marks than they deserved,
with promises that they will fix their infractions for the next inspection, but
they didn't have to actually follow through with their promise.
The second way the inspections were mishandled was that inspections were
used by security personnel as a way to relieve their own stress. While one
patrolman conducted the inspection, other patrolmen walked among the
other restricted personnel waiting their turn in ranks. The patrolmen would
look for anyone moving or looking around and then run up to that person and
scream at him or her like a boot camp drill instructor. These reprimands
would often include a question asking the restricted member why he failed
to stand in ranks correctly. This elicited a response from the restricted
member (to answer the question) which then resulted in even more yelling
by the patrolman. Also, if a restricted member made a facial expression of
any kind, the patrolman would then yell at him or her for showing
disrespect. Often these incidents would escalate and the restricted person
would end up on report.
Another way restricted personnel were abused and neglected had to do with
the condition of their living space. The living space set aside for the
restricted personnel was uninhabitable. The space frequently failed routine
ship fitness inspections. Piles of dirty laundry cluttered the place and
produced a repugnant odor. The space was filthy and trash littered every
corner. The restricted personnel were responsible for cleaning this area, but
they were only allowed to be in the space from 10pm to 6am, their sleeping
time. A patrolman was usually present in the space at 10pm to see that the
lights were turned off. The patrolmen sent to do this would often yell at the
restricted personnel for doing such a lousy job at keeping the space clean.
Third, restricted members assigned Extra Duty assignments were often
turned over to supervisors who would give them one or two small tasks to
do and then turn them loose. Extra Duty was supposed to last for two hours
every day. Restricted members who were supposed to be conducting Extra
Duty were often found in unauthorized areas. They were hiding so they
wouldn't get caught not doing their full two hours of Extra Duty. When they
were caught, they were usually placed on report.
The result of these abuses was that there were many opportunities for
restricted members to get themselves in more trouble. They would often
provoke arguments with patrolman, get in fights with each other in their
living space, get in trouble in their regular duties, attempt to take leave
without permission and so on. At least half of the members on restriction at
any given time were repeat offenders. Restricted members' parent
departments would usually occupy the member's time during the workday by
giving them menial assignments that were wastes of time for the members
and their departments. Once someone was placed on restriction they were
considered a problem employee with no value to the department. In a
civilian organization, they would have simply been fired. In fact, several
restricted members (at least six that I can recall) were ultimately given
conduct related discharges from the military.
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How to get the most out of those under you -- and those above. |
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