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On Oct. I1 2007, the Army Corrections Command (ACC) was activated in Washington, D.C., at the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes. For the first time in the more than 200year history of U.S. Army confinement and corrections, the Army has a single headquarters that exercises command and control, operational oversight and policy support for the correctional system. ACC was activated as a field operating agency under the Army's Office of the Provost Marshal General, and is headquartered in Arlington, Va.
ACC exercises leadership and oversight for 1,700 civilian and military personnel, and manages 2,300 military prisoners in military and Federal Bureau of Prisons facilities or on mandatory supervised release or parole. The facilities that comprise ACC are the:
* U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.;
* Regional correctional facilities at Fort Lewis, Wash.; Fort Sill, Okla.; and Fort Knox, Ky.; and
* Army correctional facilities at Coleman Barracks, Mannheim, Germany; and Camp Humphreys, Korea.
During the activation ceremony, the U.S. Army provost marshal general, Brig. Gen. Rodney Johnson, stated, "Today's establishment of the Army Corrections Command might be the most significant change to the Army correc- tions system since June 1874 when Maj. Thomas Barr convinced Congress to authorize $125,900 to remodel buildings and establish the U.S. Military Prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas."1 The activation of ACC ensures a unified and consistent application of policy and best prac- tices as Army fulfills its mission to provide U.S. military prisoners with treatment, educational and voca- tional programs in a safe and secure correctional environ- ment. The ultimate goal of ACC activities is to prepare military inmates either for their successful return to duty or to be productive, law-abiding members of society after their release.
Because Army prisoners are usually in confinement for the first time, have high school degrees, benefit from direct supervision by superb noncom- missioned officer leaders, and are afforded access to excellent treatment, educational and vocational programs, they have a good chance of successfully reintegrating into society or, in select cases, returning to military duty. ACC treatment, education- al and vocational pro- grams are adapted from the best correctional prac tices and are tailored to meet the particular needs of Army's prisoner population. Some of the programs offered within the Army Cor- rections...