Standing Watch

My part time job on the weekends is being a security officer. I work at a DoD site in Hanahan SC. I work a 12 hour shift from 6 am to 6 pm. I typically work every Saturday except for the 3rd Sat of every month. That Saturday that is set out for me so I can go play card games with friends in Surfside Beach SC.

Back in 1982 I completed a law enforcement academy in Houston Texas and worked as a jailer for a short period of time. When I found out that I had to work in the jail for 5 years before I could get into patrol I decided that was not going to work for me. Working with inmates takes a special kind of person. You have no idea what shenanigans' goes on within the walls of a county jail. Well, at least I hope not.

I moved from being a jailer to be a private security officer doing patrol in apartment complexes from 6 pm to 6 am. I worked hand in hand with local law enforcement. On many occasions we would catch someone breaking the law and we would detain them until the police could come scoop them up and take them to jail. I have to say I had a lot of fun doing this when I was younger.

Now, I work security and unlike before I am not armed. In other words I do not carry a weapon on the contract I am working. Back in the day if you were commissioned to be armed the pay rate was higher than if you were unarmed. Today, it does not matter if you are armed or not. All you have to do is take a different class to get your armed commission card through SLED. Every security officer you see has to put in an application through SLED and go…