hondo
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Posts: 25
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Post by hondo on Jan 31, 2017 12:19:52 GMT -5
How short handed are you at Hughes? We are not terribly short-handed but there is always a high turn-over rate among the younger COs. That's simply because that they find out that this job isn't for them or they mess around and get in trouble because they're not doing what they are supposed to do in the first place. It's like that in all prisons. The COs that are retired military typically do very well here because they generally have the strong ethics and discipline required to make it in this type of environment. That second check every month helps a whole lot too. There are quite a few folks that retired from TDCJ working here once again as well. Again, that second check each month helps a lot and is a powerful motivator. With all of that being said, you should have a reasonably good shot at being assigned to the Hughes Unit. It is an all-male 2250 unit with expansion dorm that brings the offender population up to 2985 or thereabouts on a daily basis. Work schedules are 4/4 at 12:30 hours a day. Shifts are 0500-1730 and 1700-0530 for Ad-Seg and 0530-1800 and 1730-0600 for Population. Other entry-level opportunities include Escort Team and Shakedown Team. These positions typically work 5 days at 8 hours daily or 4 days at 10 hours daily and they have to pull Visitation duty periodically. A lot of the H-Card positions such as Field Force, Armorer and Craft Shop go unfilled because the COs don't want to give up those 4 days off every week. When you apply, be sure to specify Hughes Unit as one of your choices. The other units in Gatesville are all female units and they are a different animal all-around but those aren't too bad either for the very same reasons that the Hughes Unit is decent. The female units that are 4/4 is Lane Murray and Woodman Units. The others are 6/3 and ranked from best to worst are as follows: Mountain View, Hilltop and Crain Units. The worst thing about the Crain Unit is that it's broken down into small satellite units but even that's not too bad. As a male assigned to a female unit, you will generally work perimeter or utility officer. Even our worst unit is way better than Allred. Good Luck and hope to see you here one day.
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Post by accussedsnitchgp11 on Jan 31, 2017 16:44:39 GMT -5
Allred just had a Open House and invited the public for a sugar coated tour and had 50 interested in apply for "Testing" ..They have another public open house tour coming up. If like usual They will get about 50 to get into preservice and 20 make it to OJT...Which will hardly fill the 120+ Vacancies they have right now....by the time they get everyone back to shift they will be back to about 120 Short...
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Post by crosstimbersokie on Jan 31, 2017 19:58:07 GMT -5
How short handed are you at Hughes? We are not terribly short-handed but there is always a high turn-over rate among the younger COs. That's simply because that they find out that this job isn't for them or they mess around and get in trouble because they're not doing what they are supposed to do in the first place. It's like that in all prisons. The COs that are retired military typically do very well here because they generally have the strong ethics and discipline required to make it in this type of environment. That second check every month helps a whole lot too. There are quite a few folks that retired from TDCJ working here once again as well. Again, that second check each month helps a lot and is a powerful motivator. With all of that being said, you should have a reasonably good shot at being assigned to the Hughes Unit. It is an all-male 2250 unit with expansion dorm that brings the offender population up to 2985 or thereabouts on a daily basis. Work schedules are 4/4 at 12:30 hours a day. Shifts are 0500-1730 and 1700-0530 for Ad-Seg and 0530-1800 and 1730-0600 for Population. Other entry-level opportunities include Escort Team and Shakedown Team. These positions typically work 5 days at 8 hours daily or 4 days at 10 hours daily and they have to pull Visitation duty periodically. A lot of the H-Card positions such as Field Force, Armorer and Craft Shop go unfilled because the COs don't want to give up those 4 days off every week. When you apply, be sure to specify Hughes Unit as one of your choices. The other units in Gatesville are all female units and they are a different animal all-around but those aren't too bad either for the very same reasons that the Hughes Unit is decent. The female units that are 4/4 is Lane Murray and Woodman Units. The others are 6/3 and ranked from best to worst are as follows: Mountain View, Hilltop and Crain Units. The worst thing about the Crain Unit is that it's broken down into small satellite units but even that's not too bad. As a male assigned to a female unit, you will generally work perimeter or utility officer. Even our worst unit is way better than Allred. Good Luck and hope to see you here one day. I'm assuming that extra check is the overtime for the 12 hour shifts? Would you be hired for a different unit than the one you applied for? One reason that I hadn't seriously considered Gatesville is because of all the female units. I can foresee the possibility of having to work in one of them during emergencies. I had a couple of brief experiences in a female prison when I worked for Oklahoma DOC in the early '90s. During Christmas holiday seasons our Warden would authorize special visits for our male inmates to visit their female relatives at a female prison. I transported inmates to those on two separate occasions. I saw that it wasn't for me. They coddled the "ladies" way too much, to the point of looking at me sideways for talking too loud. And I'm not even a loud talker. The atmosphere was that male staff should walk on eggshells around those special "ladies." Which is a typical female paradise I suppose. Men walking on eggshells and all. I suspect that TDCJ female prisons would be different, but I would still rather avoid those special ladies. If I were to apply to Hughes only would there be a chance that I could be assigned to one of the female units nearby? Also, is the academy still located in Gatesville? From what I've read, being a Field Boss was once the pinnacle for TDCJ officers. Now no one wants to do it because of the schedule? Thanks for the information.
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Post by crosstimbersokie on Jan 31, 2017 20:04:08 GMT -5
Allred just had a Open House and invited the public for a sugar coated tour and had 50 interested in apply for "Testing" ..They have another public open house tour coming up. If like usual They will get about 50 to get into preservice and 20 make it to OJT...Which will hardly fill the 120+ Vacancies they have right now....by the time they get everyone back to shift they will be back to about 120 Short... They had one on December 19th that I almost went to too. Something else came up and I couldn't go. I almost went to the January 30th one. Had a motel reservation and everything. However, I have a few months to investigate before I leave Leavenworth.
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Post by accussedsnitchgp11 on Feb 1, 2017 0:27:23 GMT -5
They had one on December 19th that I almost went to too. Something else came up and I couldn't go. I almost went to the January 30th one. Had a motel reservation and everything. However, I have a few months to investigate before I leave Leavenworth. Don't worry like Motel 6..They will leave the Light on for ya....will still be plenty of spots open
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Post by crosstimbersokie on Feb 1, 2017 1:39:07 GMT -5
I don't know if Wichita Falls can compete with Gatesville to be quite honest. If TDCJ there doesn't pan out, I could probably talk the sheriff's department or local PD into hiring me as a paranormal investigator, or a ghost whisper if you will. It seems that Gatesville is overran with orbs, spirits, ghosts and demons. I could do that job. I have technical and surveillance skills, and blew stuff up in the army. Since, as the video points out, ghosts and spirits are believed to be composed of electromagnetic energy. That being the case, a small EMP blast, perhaps with a suitcase nuke, could eliminate these pesky otherworlders if they become too much of a nuisance--if I can lure them all to within range of the blast.
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hondo
New Member
Posts: 25
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Post by hondo on Feb 1, 2017 7:38:00 GMT -5
That extra check most of us get every month is the military or TDCJ pension check that all of us military retirees and TDCJ retirees get each month in addition to our regular TDCJ salary. When you work at a 4/4 unit such as the Hughes Unit, there is really no overtime. You will accrue 9 hours of comp time every month if you work all of your required days. If you apply for the Hughes Unit only it might take you a little while longer to get hired on rather than if you select a couple other units here. As a male, you have roughly an 80-90% or higher chance of being assigned to the Hughes Unit especially with your experience and qualifications. As for the training academy, it's still here in Gatesville at the Hilltop Unit. The training academy is 6 weeks long followed by 6 more weeks of OJT at your unit of assignment. Nothing in the academy is very hard and you'll make it through just fine. The H-card positions such as Field Force, Armorer, Craft Shop and such are hard to fill nowadays simply because most COs don't want give up those 4 days off for a normal work schedule. Most COs who work here live in places like Killeen, Harker Heights and Copperas Cove and they really don't want to drive all the way up to Gatesville for an extra work day every week. Those COs typically have an extra job or a side business that they do outside of TDCJ on their off days. Others such as myself who draws a big retirement pension every month simply enjoy having those 4 days off every week to go to nice places like Galveston and Fredericksburg for fishing, hunting and all-around good times in general. It's like having a little vacation every week. An H-card position is typically 5/2 with all weekends and holidays off while a shift card position is 4/4 and you work the weekends and holidays that fall within your assigned workdays. The up-side to this shift schedule is that you accrue lots of holiday and comp time very quickly and you won't have to use any vacation or sick time when you take time off. That vacation and sick time accrues towards your service time for retirement purposes. An H-card position doesn't accrue all of that holiday and comp time like a shift card does. COs on H-card have to use their vacation and sick time when they have to take time off and they lose out on the benefit of getting that extra service credit for accrued vacation and sick time.
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Post by crosstimbersokie on Feb 1, 2017 18:08:28 GMT -5
You are a wealth of information. Thanks Hondo.
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Post by accussedsnitchgp11 on Feb 1, 2017 22:21:57 GMT -5
Wondering how the "Employee Hiring Freeze" will effect TDCJ?
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Post by mley1 on Feb 1, 2017 23:42:01 GMT -5
I do love my extra check from retirement. It makes going to work, .......well, FUN. lol
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Post by mley1 on Feb 1, 2017 23:43:33 GMT -5
Wondering how the "Employee Hiring Freeze" will effect TDCJ? It won't affect security staff. My guess is it may affect other admin staff though.
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