Paying attention to detail is very important. If you are told to do something a specific way, the best thing that you can do is exactly what you were told. There is always a reasoning behind everything you do. Paying attention to detail in the Corrections environment is very important, especially if it has to do with a certain way of completing tasks inside the institutions. If a seasoned officer tells you to do something as a new officer, its probably something that will either make it easier for you or save your life.
Sometimes you don’t always agree with what you are told, so the best thing you can do is just complete the task and handle it later with that person. My personal experiences with paying attention to detail brings me back to when I was overseas in Iraq. Me being a new graduate straight out of Boot Camp was one of the biggest challenges. Especially being over there with a group of people whom I know nothing about. Once I met my team leader, he explained to me how he likes to run his truck and his expectations for me.
Everyday before we went out on missions, we were told the Intel for the day in the area we were going to be traveling. If we didn’t pay close attention to the hot spots, or target areas for IED’s, we could be putting all our lives at risk. So yes, paying attention to detail is very important, especially if you were in my shoes as the Lead Gunner on our convoys. Everyday I had to pay close attention to every bit of information given to me because my eyes up in the turret were what got everyone of my team members home alive after that year.
There was nothing more stressful than knowing that If I slightly missed or didn’t pay attention to one little thing, or overlook anything, I could have put multiple lives at risk. Having on my conscious that everyone of my team members came home alive because of me paying attention to detail is something I am proud to be able to say. In conclusion, paying attention to detail is very important because you never know when something is going to go wrong. Inside the institutions, there are certain ways things are done. If they are not done that way, that’s when things like riots, escapes or even staff assaults can happen.
