MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. -- Marines and Sailors from Southern California completed a Basic Brig Escort course, also known as a brig chaser course, at the Naval Consolidated Brig aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, April 19.
The brig, a military prison, houses and confines service members who have engaged in criminal activity. Whenever these individuals leave the facility, trained escorts must accompany them to their appointments.
“We can’t just turn those prisoners or detainees over to anybody,” said Chief Warrant Officer 4 John Nolan, a corrections officer with Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar. “We’re entrusted with 100 percent of their safety and well-being. There’s just a huge pot of reasons that trained people need to be the ones taking the prisoners outside.”
According to Staff Sgt. Leo Briggs, a corrections officer with Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar, and a Beaumont, Texas, native, until the responsibility for a prisoner officially transfers from their unit to the brig, the unit is responsible for transporting them to and from appointments.
“It’s important for [commands] to have brig chasers because they can, at any time, have … a person confined here and they will need to be certified to understand the basic handlings of these prisoners,” said Tech. Sgt. Justin Villalpando, training noncommissioned officer in charge at Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar, and a Phoenix, Arizona, native.
During the course, instructors spent several hours reviewing different types of contraband, rules for both prisoners and escorts, the different restraints escorts will use and proper escort procedures. Later on, the students practiced conducting searches, applying restraints and completed a written exam.
“It is extremely important to make sure the people we turn prisoners over to are trained in exactly what they can and cannot do, things [the prisoners] can and can’t have,” said Nolan.
The Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar holds a Basic Brig Escort course once a month and certified 60 service members to escort prisoners aboard MCAS Miramar and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. For information about future courses, call (858) 577-7171.