With fourteen prisons in our area, the corrections industry is big business in the Panhandle.
Most of the time, life behind the walls is business as usual.
But what happens when a riot breaks-out?
The Region One Rapid Response Team spent today at the Holmes County fairgrounds preparing for the possibility.
Imagine a group of unruly inmates plotting an escape from prison.
The Department of Corrections is doing all it can to prevent that from happening.
Major Scott Duvall is from the Liberty Corrections Institute and thinks the extensive training is vital for everyone’s safety.
"We work in an environment that's unpredictable and any event like that can happen at a moment's notice. So what we have to be prepared for are the 'what if's’, and if it were to happen what would we do; and we're certainly prepared for that."
The Rapid Response Team deploys during emergency situations, like Friday’s scenario where team members had to rescue an injured officer and disburse a prison riot.
They practice using a wide range of tactics, from crowd control to less-than-lethal specialty impact.
And it's a force to be reckoned with.
The nature of a Corrections Officer's job puts them in potentially dangerous environments.
They learn to depend on each other, anticipating each other's reactions, as evidenced by the region one motto "We Never Walk Alone".
Captain Lloyd Burke thinks the mass training ensures everyone is on the same page.
"We have to come together every year to make sure we all operate in the same manner and that we're familiar with all situations and can co exist with any squad."
Each Rapid Response team member trains regularly and must meet strict fitness requirements, but the job requires a combination of abilities.
Scott May is a platoon leader and makes sure his men are in the best shape possible. While he thinks that physical capabilities are necessary, he also thinks it goes further than that. "It’s a quality of leadership. It's physically demanding. It’s mentally and physically demanding to be in a situation like that. So it's very very important to be in top shape at all times."
Burke adds his sense of pride expressing exactly what it means to be a part of the Department of Corrections.
"It's presence. A show of force."
All of the fourteen area prisons participate in this joint training exercise at least once a year.