North Carolina Department of Correction news release

June 2, 1998

Secretary Jarvis Dedicates the state's first female boot camp

Hoffman - Correction Secretary Mack Jarvis, Commandant John Taylor and other dignitaries dedicated the state's first female boot camp June 2nd. The $1.9 million IMPACT boot camp, built with inmate labor, will accept its first trainees June 8th. IMPACT is a highly structured military-style program for probationers between the ages of 16-30

John Taylor, Secretary Jarvis, Lynn Phillips,
Robert Guy, Sherry Pilkington, Roy Harvel
cut the ribbon to open the new boot camp
unit.

 "Female trainees can expect to find the same kind of experience at IMPACT that several thousand young men already have," Secretary Jarvis said. "There will be hard work. They will have to study hard. And at the end of 90 days, we hope these young women will have learned the importance of disciplined life and hard work."

Judges now have the option of sending young female offenders to boot camp as part of their probation sentence. If the trainee fails at boot camp, she is one step away from prison.

The young women sent to the new boot camp can expect a rigorous schedule. The minute a trainee steps out of the car, drill instructors begin barking orders, putting the trainee in a crisis so that she is ready to listen and learn and not be manipulative, according to Commandant John Taylor. For three months, the young women will rise each morning at 4:30 a.m. and go to bed at 9 p.m. They will spend more than seven a hours a day working, usually clearing land or cleaning property for government agencies, and at least two hours in school. For the remaining 16.5 hours that they are awake, the women will be engaged in physical training, drill and exercise to instill self-confidence and discipline.

One of the few differences between the female boot camp and the male boot camp is that women will be required to keep their hair above their collars either by pinning it up or getting it cut.

The female boot camp has 36 employees, including drill instructors and correctional officers. The estimated operating cost for the boot camp is $1.6 million a year.

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