Free The Turnaround: How America's Top Cop Reversed the Crime Epidemic by William Bratton, Peter Knobler Page B

be a Boston cop, I could spend three years working on something that would be enjoyable and might also prepare me for becoming a police officer.
    I had seen MPs around Boston. There were several military bases in the area, and along with large influxes of sailors on the weekends I saw theshore patrol in the streets alongside the city cops. They were strong and efficient and looked good in their uniforms. I went up to the army recruiting station at Codman Square and signed up.
    I was to be sworn in on November 30, 1966.
    My mother wouldn't see me off. She was crying. My father drove me to the old Boston Army Base in South Boston, where I was going to get shipped down to Fort Dix, New Jersey, for basic training. It was the only time I had ever seen a tear in his eye. We sat in the car, and he gave me a firm handshake. “Good luck, Bill. We're going to miss you.” I got out, and he drove off.
    I was processed, and then about five-thirty in the afternoon a caravan of Greyhound buses full of recruits headed south. Other than vacations in New Hampshire, a trip to Canada, and a visit to New York City with my parents, I had never been out of the Boston area.
    We arrived at Fort Dix about one in the morning. They marched us over to a beat-up two-story wood barracks with ladders on both sides for fire escapes, just like I'd seen in World War II movies, and issued us our gear for the night. It was cold, and when I went to use the facilities, I found twelve toilet bowls fanned out in a circle—no separation, no privacy whatsoever—and a dozen guys sitting around looking at each other. I have always been a very private person, and I was aghast.
    Then, they lined us up and marched us into the mess hall for a meal. Liver, lima beans, and mashed potatoes. This mess had probably been sitting on the steam tables since they fed the troops at five that afternoon. I was a persnickety eater to begin with. I had stayed clear of a lot of foods, and liver was one of them. Lima beans? Forget it. Thus began my army career.
    For the next few days, we went through indoctrination, got our uniforms, filled out papers, received shots, took placement tests. After the aptitude exam, I was called into the sergeant's office. I stood at attention, and the sergeant said, “Bratton, looking at your test here, it appears that you would make a pretty good candidate for Officer Candidate School. We can sign you up. In fact, we would like to sign you up right now.” He told me that upon finishing basic training, I would be shipped off to OCS and would graduate from there as a second lieutenant.
    “Sir. When I enlisted I was guaranteed that I would be assigned to the military police, sir. If I go to OCS, will I still be an MP?”
    “No, soldier. You go to OCS and you can request a specialization, but the army cannot guarantee that your request will be answered in theaffirmative. You might be needed in other areas.” He wanted me to make a decision right there.
    I liked the fact that I was being invited to move to the top of the pack. I always wanted to stand out, and a second lieutenant far outranked a private. I was only in the army three days, and already I was being singled out.
    But I was hooked on the dream of being a military policeman and then a cop. That's all that was on my mind, and this promotion, while seemingly a step forward, would interrupt that ambition. I respectfully declined.
    For some reason, my company was an equal mix of New Englanders and Mississippians. My squad in particular was very well mixed. Just deciphering the accents was a job and a half. My best friend turned out to be Bill Campbell, a black kid from Roxbury. I could at least understand his accent.
    My first drill instructor, Sergeant Rush, was a big, black, Smokey the Bear–type guy with a gruff voice who was trying to grow us into soldiers. He was a decent guy underneath the shouting, and about a week into basic he appointed me squad leader, which got me a semiprivate