Correctional Officers - Steel your Spine

Correctional Officers -   Steel your Spine

Walking among those dressed in orange or black and white uniforms and sentenced to those gates of hell step by step without a gun and only having the guts to do so, I have watched the unparalleled bravery and courage of the correctional officer up close and personal.

I have witnessed an unyielding determination to face friend or foe under the worst human conditions with bravery inside their hearts.  Each man or woman has courage in their soul, compassion in their hearts and spines of steel. 

Sitting here thinking about what most of you already know because you live the fury and hell of the unforgiven job you have chosen that casts you into society’s darkest pits and leaves you there unnoticed and very seldom appreciated for what you do. 

When we say you have steel in your spine it means you have the determination of an eagle to soar proudly above the rest of the crowd. You have the spirit that is undauntedly filled with the strength and responsibility to take care of others than no one else wants to touch or be around as they are castaways and lepers to society’s cultural standards. Regardless of how society feels, you are held at a higher standard to do your job and do it right.

Facing overwhelming opposition in your world of compliance and non-compliance you must possess steel in your spine to enter cells where danger lurks for you or others. Standing the wall you show the steel your spine as you deal with the adversities in and artificially induced after-life and the reality of knowing that danger lurks around every corner of this hell-hole of a prison.

Many times you are often left alone, trapped behind ribbons of razor wire and silver steel on high wired fences. The odds are overwhelming as you are left there with many more than any free man could imagine. In a dark world filled with pain, mutilations and death, you walk through the shadows of evil as you do what no man or woman would volunteer to do day in and day out but when it counts the most you know you never walk alone. There are others, sisters and brothers that stand by your side.

Correctional officers show steel in their spines because of who they are and what they do as they make the calls to handle whatever comes their way and because of the actions and decisions they make. They keep you safe and let you walk or sleep with no worries on your mind as they keep those dangerous to society in this place that’s nothing more than a pit of hell fire and brimstone any given day of the week.