West Virignia National Guard Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

W.Va. Corrections Commissioner Says Jail Guard Vacancies Are Being Filled

While West Virginia remains in a corrections emergency with hundreds of National Guard members helping fill the ranks, progress is being made.

In a Wednesday media briefing, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations Commissioner Billy Marshall said since May 2023, 227 guards have graduated from the guard training academy, with another 52 currently in class.

Marshall said a new recruiting campaign is working, and changes in the six-week class – getting recruits out on the floors at two and a half weeks – is giving recruits and supervisors decision making experiences.

“It’s really allowed the individual to get within our facilities behind the doors, to see if they’re cut out for this kind of a work,” Marshall said. “To see if those individuals are actually cut out for what the tasks are in our jails and prisons and juvenile centers. It takes a special kind of person to do what we do.”

In speaking before the Legislative Oversight Committee on Regional Jails and Prisons in mid-October, Marshall said there were 990 jail guard vacancies statewide. He said then that 330 to 340 National Guard members, under emergency orders, continued to staff non-inmate contact posts at correctional facilities.

Marshall also listed several facilities that are cutting their vacancy numbers.

“I’m proud to announce that the Lakin Women’s Correctional Facility, near Point Pleasant in Mason County, currently has zero staffing base vacancies,” Marshall said. “The Western Regional Jail near Barboursville, West Virginia, they’ve added 14 new officers in the last month with eight new officers starting soon. They’re one of the facilities that received the critical vacancy rate supplement.”

Marshall said the South Central Regional Jail is down to five vacancies, He said Moundsville’s Northern Correctional Facility has added 32 new officers in the last month.

Marshall said the Donald R. Kuhn Juvenile Detention Center in Boone County was down to one corrections officer vacancy. He said the Tiger Morton Juvenile Detention Center in Dunbar was fully staffed “for the first time that I could ever remember.”

Marshall gave credit to the new corrections pay plan that kicked in last month. In an August special session, lawmakers passed and the governor signed bills meant to bolster the state’s jails and prisons.

One of the bills, Senate Bill 1005, put $21.1 million toward increasing starting pay and changing pay scales for correctional officers. Two more, Senate Bill 1003 and Senate Bill 1004, provided nearly $6 million for one-time bonuses for correctional support staff, divided into two payments.

The state still faces multiple corrections lawsuits regarding jail conditions, overcrowding and inhumane treatment. Last month, the two sides reached a $4 million agreement in a class-action lawsuit over the alleged poor conditions at the Southern Regional Jail. Four separate $1 million state insurance policies were divided up among 9,200 inmates.

Correction Staffing Concerns Continue For State Facilities

There are currently 1,027 vacancies in the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, according to a presentation Tuesday.

There are currently 1,027 vacancies in the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, according to a presentation Tuesday by Brad Douglas, the agency’s acting commissioner, to the Legislative Oversight Committee on Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority.

That adds up to a 33 percent vacancy rate for officers and a 27 percent vacancy rate overall.

“I’ve got a little bit of hope that is slowing down a bit,” he said. Since the implementation of our $1,000 incentive, we’ve paid that out 45 times. So 45 officer hires in a month and a half to two month period is pretty good.”

In contrast to the overall numbers, Douglas said some of the regional jails have a 60 to 70 percent vacancy rate.

“So, even though we definitely have some facilities that stick out with extremely high correctional officer vacancy rates,” he said, “the rest of them are not necessarily in a good place. So I want to highlight that for the committee.”

Committee Co-Chair Del. David Kelly, R-Tyler, asked Douglas about the program to use members of the West Virginia National Guard in correctional facilities, following an order by Gov. Jim Justice last August.

“We now have over 300 Guard members coming in to help us,” Douglas said. “It’s just been a huge benefit and boon to our agency. We gave staff a break where we could and we’re very thankful for their assistance.”

Guard members work only in non-inmate contact positions in the jail. He explained they patrol the jail perimeter and the front gate, for example. He said the current jail population is approximately 4,700 inmates which he noted is easier to manage than 5,500 where it has been.

Kelly expressed concerns about the program, however.

“I think it’s important for the government to note this, I think it’s important for members of this body, I think it’s important for the people of West Virginia, to know that it is not sustainable to expect the National Guard to remain in our jails,” Kelly said. “Am I correct with that statement?”

Douglas agreed with Kelly saying the program was always designed to be a short-term solution.

W.Va. Army National Guard Promotes First Woman General

The West Virginia National Guard celebrated a historic milestone on Thursday when Michaelle M. Munger was promoted to the rank of brigadier general, making her the first female to become a general officer for the West Virginia Army National Guard.

“Michaelle shines as a leader and mentor. She has a tremendous reserve of energy and enthusiasm which she brings to bear every single day,” said Maj. Gen. Bill Crane, adjutant general of West Virginia. “While it is significant that she has become the first ever female general officer for the West Virginia Army National Guard, it is her truest qualities as a leader that we honor and recognize today.”

Over her 27-year career, Munger served on active duty in the U.S. Army and in the U.S. Army Reserves and the Army National Guard. She was commissioned through the Reserve Officer Training Corps in 1994 and has served in various roles including working for the National Guard Bureau and at the Pentagon.

Munger served the West Virginia National Guard for two years as the director of joint operations and as the first female brigade commander for the West Virginia Army National Guard.

“Today is an incredible day,” Munger said. “I am tremendously excited that Gov. Justice and Maj. Gen. Crane have the confidence and faith in me to give me this opportunity.”

Munger thinks that having a female perspective is an important element in promoting Army values.

“What we bring to the mission is unique not because we are females, but because of our ability to approach the mission in perhaps a different perspective and viewpoint,” she said. “Additionally, by being at the table, we can display our competency and capabilities, and to dispel stereotypes to help younger soldiers not face the same gender-related limitations and hurdles we might have faced in our own careers. Every soldier needs to be heard and judged based not on their sex, but by their ideas and vision.”

Munger will serve as special assistant to the adjutant general of West Virginia in her new role. She will assist with special projects, mentorship, inclusion and diversity initiatives and leadership development within the WVNG.

Munger is the first female general officer for the West Virginia Army National Guard but Brig. Gen. Paige P. Hunter was promoted to that rank in 2016, upon assuming command of the West Virginia Air National Guard.