The Oregonian
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Portland, OR 97201

TRAINING FOR THE WORST AT U.S. PRISONS

* Special Operations Response Teams from seven federal lockups go through
their paces in fields near McMinnville

McMINNVILLE -- As the afternoon sun beats down, 14 men in black Kevlar riot
helmets and black bulletproof vests, black pants and black boots march
stony-faced and sweating through the fields of the McMinnville Police
Department's firing range. They are running riot drills, practicing for the
worst, training far away from the inmates who fall under their daily watch.

They are members of Special Operations Response Teams from seven federal
correctional institutions, participating in a week's worth of crisis
management training.

What this means is that for the past four days, seven 14-member teams from
Arizona, California and Oregon have been at the range in McMinnville and at
the federal prison in Sheridan, running through a litany of drills designed
to test their skills, build teamwork and, ultimately, prepare them for the
most horrific situations inmates could produce.

At the McMinnville range on Wednesday, SORT members from Sheridan, Safford,
Phoenix and Tucson in Arizona and Dublin, Terminal Island and Lompoc in
California practiced riot formation drills, moving like dark, unstoppable
walls through dry, dusty fields, firing gas canisters and palming batons in
unison. They tested their stamina with timed obstacle courses that demanded
they hurdle sawhorses, wriggle through culverts and clear hay bales. Then
they tested their accuracy firing 9 mm pistols, submachine guns and
12-gauge shotguns from various distances.

Got a prison disturbance you can't handle? A difficult prisoner you need to
get out of his cell? A hostage you need to rescue? A Hannibal
Lector-lookalike who has to be moved?

Within the federal correctional system, you call the SORT team.

SORTs were on patrol during the Los Angeles riots. SORTs are there to back
up teams in other states when a riot gets too much for the home team to
handle.

This is why there are these yearly drills, says Paul Bise, a Western
regional trainer and team leader at Lompoc's Intensive Confinement Center.
This way SORT teams can meet and practice and synchronize their efforts
before a crisis erupts -- when they can't afford to make mistakes.

"We do this so that if we had a major disturbance, and it was so big that
the teams assigned to that area couldn't handle it, SORTS can be called in
from all over, and we'd all be on the same page," Bise said.

Part of that means evaluations. Each shot, each step, each exercise the
teams took this week was being evaluated. It's a way for officials to gauge
the teams, Bise says -- to see which are ready to be deployed for which
assignments, and also a way to identify which skills the teams need to work
on.

Positions on SORTs aren't easily earned. It's a special assignment, done in
addition to regular prison duties. Anyone interested has to try out for a
spot on his or her prison's team. There are physical fitness tests and a
psychological exam.

And then there are days of training and testing.

Waiting in line with other members of his team for his turn at the obstacle
course at the McMinnville Police Department range is Arron Anderson, a
Portland native who is now a corrections officer with the federal
institution in Tuscon. He says the best part of the week is seeing all the
other team members.

"A lot of these guys we only see once a year," he says. (Except for ones
who work at Lompoc and Phoenix -- the Tuscon SORT team's been called in to
back them up, Anderson recalls.)

He's next in line now, ready for his signal to run the obstacle course, his
submachine gun dangling at his side. He's been through the training three
times now. He toes the line.

"I'm taking a vacation when this is all over," he says, and gets laughs
from the rest of the guys, who are waiting in the heat behind him.

Checked-by: Pat Dolan