They were the bad boys.

Cutting class to sneak out behind the school for a smoke or worse, they were the kids who dropped out of high school and disappeared.

They were, until the state of Wyoming reached out to offer them a second chance.

"I didn't care about anyone or anything," said Daniel Harmon of Douglas, one of the 22 young men who graduated in June from the National Guard's first Youth ChalleNGe program in Wyoming. "Most of the time I would just skip class and go smoke weed in the parking lot."

Like his classmates, Harmon, now 18, was so far behind in high school, getting a diploma seemed impossible. He heard about the Youth ChalleNGe program at Camp Guernsey, and with lots of encouragement from his mom and his girlfriend, decided to sign up. It wasn't easy.

The Youth ChalleNGe program is an educational and mentoring program that starts with an intense, five-month stay at Camp Guernsey in southeast Wyoming. Cadets between the ages of 16 and 18 learn educational, vocational and technical skills in a strict, military setting. They build their self-esteem and personal sense of responsibility and discipline.

"This program has changed my thinking, my way of life. My whole point of view has changed," said Harmon, a stocky young man with muscular, hairy forearms. "Before, the only thing that mattered was my fists. I was in trouble with the cops. I didn't care what happened in the future. I was basically a cretin. I skated and beat people up."

Harmon was one of the people who slipped through the cracks in the system. Forgotten, ignored or abandoned, these young men seemed doomed to drugs, trouble and failure.

Through the program, Harmon and his classmates were able to get their lives back on track, but the choices they make from here will determine whether they can stay the course or fall back to their old ways.

"Some of these kids tested in at a fourth-grade level when they came in here, but they've progressed immensely," science instructor George Zeimens said midway through the program. "It's pretty amazing. They all failed in the public school system.

"I tell them, 'No matter what happened in your past, you are in charge of your own destiny,'" Zeimens said. "What happens to them is based on the choices they make. You can't blame your problems on others. The decisions they make from this point on will shape who they become."

Back to basics

The program began Jan. 23 in the barren, cold and windy grounds of Camp Guernsey. Shaggy heads were shaved to the skin and uniforms were issued to everyone. Cadets found concrete barracks with stark, white walls and steel bunks.

"When you are getting ready to sign up, they're all nice," said Cadet Robert Samuelson of Casper. "Once you sign up and start, they're like, 'Shut your face, sit down and don't breathe.' We put on our uniforms and we just got dropped. I was shell-shocked, major."

The first two weeks were physically and emotionally exhausting. Sleep-deprived cadets later told stories of lots of yelling, two-minute showers and being awakened with air horns. Seven of the initial 42 cadets dropped out before the public ribbon cutting ceremony on Feb. 6.

"At first, we're not their friends at all," said Cadre Shift Supervisor Amanda Dykes of Torrington. "We're not here to be their friends. We can't be friends. Some of the cadets just aren't going to succeed. We can only help the kids who want to be helped."

The 35 cadets, including two young women, walked through the Feb. 6 ceremony dressed in blue shirts, gray sweat pants and sneakers, signifying their status as candidates. All the young men had shaved heads. Most had bad acne. None were smiling.

During the ceremony, they stepped out to change into light blue T-shirts with the Youth ChalleNGe logo, khakis and black boots. When they came back, they were still clearly in a daze from the process.

"I thought this program was a breeze until reality set in," Harmon recalled later into the year. "They broke me down. It was very stressful and painful. At first I didn't want to change. By the first week I was ready to leave, but my mom talked me out of it."

After two weeks of boot camp-style drills, the program shifts to a classroom setting, where expectations continually rise.

"It's easier if you can get into the flow of things," Harmon said. "If you don't meet expectations, you'll get in trouble. I don't want to get in trouble because I want to graduate."

The ChalleNGe program consists of five four-week phases, focusing on psychological development in areas of discipline, integrity, courage, honor and commitment. Throughout the program, cadets also take classes in science, math, social studies and English. All have the opportunity to take the GED exam before graduation.

Group punishment is used for individual and group mistakes, encouraging cadets to help their slower classmates improve. Natural leadership skills often reveal themselves during these moments, but none of the cadre expected a car thief to rise to become the class leader and represent the state at the U.S. Capitol.

Changing inside

"I came here to get away from trouble," said Cadet Louis Oldman, 17, a Northern Arapaho who lives in Arapahoe. "I was stealing cars and doing drugs. I dropped out in eighth grade and spent some time in the Wyoming Boys School. I didn't get along with people and did whatever I wanted."

Oldman saw the opportunity to break away from his past and was driven to change himself.

"I'm lucky this caught me before I went back to my old friends," he said in March. "I did everything I was told and I became the leader of my flight. I've really made my family happy. They didn't think I could succeed. I'm pretty sure I'm changing already. I feel it inside me, in my bones. My mom said she knows I'm changing inside."

Oldman and Andrew Olsen of Cheyenne were two cadets who stepped forward early as leaders by following orders, going beyond expectations and showing their classmates respect. They were chosen to represent Wyoming at a national Youth ChalleNGe conference in Washington, D.C., in late February.

Oldman said he was impressed with visits to the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, the Library of Congress and the Pentagon, but he said he was most surprised by the comments and compliments he received from citizens.

"It made me feel good inside," he said. "The other cadets look up to me and I'm trying to be a better role model. I'm also trying to be a better role model for my brothers and sisters. I don't want them to end up in my footsteps."

By mid-March, only 26 cadets remained, all male. By May, only 22 were left.

"When somebody leaves, it feels like everybody is leaving," Samuelson said. "Before this program, I was smoking pot, drinking alcohol and doing what I wanted. With my parents, I completely blew their trust. I would do the exact opposite of what they said just to make them mad. I had anger management issues.

"People would say, 'You're an angry person and you have anger issues.' I would say, 'No I'm not,' and I would get angry," he said. "Now I'm more respectful than when I started. I plan to move back in with my parents, get a job and go to college. This place opened so many opportunities. They're giving us the skills to succeed that we lost along the way when we were growing up."

The big day

"I've been getting nervous," Cadet John "Dylan" Renfrow said on the morning of June 23, before graduation from the five-month camp. Renfrow, 17, moved from Louisiana to Colorado with his mom so he could be in the program. "I made a family here. I don't really want to leave."

Renfrow has trouble looking people in the eyes but is quick to make a joke and flash a smile. By the end of the program, he could do 114 push-ups in one minute, far exceeding any of his classmates.

"I had no respect when I came here," he said. "I used to skip school, smoked pot, stayed out late, didn't get along with my mom. Once you're so far behind, there's a point where you can't get back on track. I don't want to be the old Dylan. I want to become a new Dylan."

Dressed in dark blue caps and gowns, the 22 remaining cadets buzzed with excitement but still fell into line and barked out responses when prompted by supervising cadre. They looked more like a team than ever before.

On the bus ride from the heavily guarded Camp Guernsey to the Guernsey-Sunrise High School, cadets talked about the upcoming ceremony.

"It feels like I've been here my whole life, since I was 5 years old," said one.

"It feels like I just got here," said another.

"It feels like I'm still here," said a third.

"I'm just ready to go home and get a job," Oldman said. "Today is a way to show how much we love each other and respect each other. Everybody had different personalities. Some days we didn't respect each other, but we're all like brothers here. We're all on the same level."

Charles Domingue, the Air Force chief master sergeant who commanded the first class of cadets, said he was pleased with the program.

"For the most part, the major change has been their decision-making process and their ability to take responsibility," said Domingue, a tall, muscular man with sharp eyes and an unsmiling face.

"This is going to cause them to be successful later on," he said. "It's a simple case of social conformity. In our exit briefing, we tell them that education is the key to being in a secure environment.

"There are three possibilities for them when they go back to their homes," he said. "We tell them their friends are still going to be there and they have probably added a person to take your place. You can choose to conform to their social standings, convert them to yours or find a new circle of friends. We encourage them to keep in contact with their cadet friends and keep refreshing each other with new ideas so they can all draw strength from it."

Domingue said the greatest strength of the Youth ChalleNGe program is its peer mentors. Each of the cadets is partnered early on with an adult mentor in their home community who will visit and write to the cadet throughout the program.

After graduation from the five-month residential program, cadets enter the second, year-long phase. They'll make their own choices about how to spend that time, whether in college, the military or the workplace. If they need help, their mentors will be there.

Support

The gymnasium at Guernsey-Sunrise High School was packed with friends, family and supporters. All the school's folding chairs were filled and many people were left standing.

"You've all had a real part in causing this to happen," U.S. Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., told the audience.

"I'm very much impressed with what you have completed," Thomas said, turning to the graduates. "Today, you are seeing that dream come true. Today, your parents are beaming with pride at what you have done. Don't allow your education to stop here. The world awaits you beyond these walls."

"You have all the choices in the world," said Wyoming's adjutant general, Maj. Gen. Ed Wright. "You can be bigger than yourself. It's a pretty big step to walk away from your friends and community. There are a lot of folks who can help you down the road. If you need any help, call us. We're committed to your long-term success."

"Clearly the Department of Education and the system has failed you somewhere along the way," said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jim McBride, a retired Air Force colonel. "I apologize for the failures of the system.

"Remember the lack of focus you had when you came here and now think of your new self-esteem and sense of direction," McBride said. "You now have confidence you never had before. You're going to be a better student. Retain that focus when you come to a decision. Think of your program and ask your mentor for help."

Other state and military officials offered their support and encouragement, but the ceremony belonged to the cadets.

"The tears we have shed you can't even begin to understand," said Cadet Gilbert McQuin of Wright during the class address. "The change was within each of us all the time, but we were afraid of it. The thing that hurt us the most was failing ourselves. A little hope was all we needed. Those who wanted to change were able to. We found out we are not the failures we thought ourselves to be."

Back home

After graduation, the cadets returned to their hometowns for barbecues and parties with family and friends. While everything at home seemed exactly the same as when they left, the cadets knew that they themselves had changed.

"The first couple of days back were weird," Harmon said last month. "I was so bored at first. But I've gotten used to it. I still have dreams about that place.

"When I got back in town, I ran into my old, nasty crowd," he said. "I just said, 'No thanks.' No more drugs for me. If I can overcome Guernsey, I can overcome anything. I didn't like half of them anyways."

Harmon has a new job at Ray's QuickLube in Douglas changing oil. He lives in a messy, one-bedroom apartment, is growing his hair out and has taken up smoking cigarettes again, but his situation is far improved from when he left. For one, he earned his GED, something he never would have thought possible.

His car needs new brakes and a clutch, and it leaks oil. But it runs, and Harmon is working his way up. His next goal is to get into WyoTech to learn how to fix cars.

"My boss told me I'm doing so good, he's thinking about promoting me to shop manager because I do what I'm supposed to, I'm friendly, and I do it right away," he said. "That place taught me a lot of respect. I don't care what people say anymore when they say I'm worthless, or that I'm not going to amount to anything.

"When I was hanging out at the skate park recently, a kid came up to me and started talking crap," he said. "He was mad at someone else, but for some reason he wanted to take it out on me. I just said 'I'm done,' got in my car and drove away."

Harmon spends his evenings fishing at Bob Williamson and Keith Rider parks in Douglas, standing on the bank and using sockets from a wrench set as weights for his line.

"It takes a long time, but it's worth it. I love fishing," he said.

It's slow and takes a lot of patience, but fishing gives him peace and lets him have some quiet time to himself, something he never got at Camp Guernsey. Plus, it keeps him out of trouble.

"Daniel changed from being a punk to being a real nice guy," said Drew Smith, Harmon's friend from high school auto shop class. "He went from being a smart ass to being a real helpful person."

"I was a bad influence," Harmon admitted, catching a small carp and setting it loose again.

Like his classmates, Harmon entered the Youth ChalleNGe program in January with the promise that he could change if he found the courage within himself. Twenty-two cadets found that courage, but their whole lives are ahead of them, full of choices.

More than half earned their GEDs. Others said they'll keep trying. Some will join the military. Some will go on to college. All of them will see ways to use the new skills they learned at Camp Guernsey. The changes they've made will have to be something they want to keep.

What they do from now on, choosing to succeed or disappear, will be the real challenge.

For the related stories click the links below.

Program comes at high cost

Graduate turns life aroundt

Reporter John Morgan can be reached at (307) 266-0614 or john.morgan@casperstartribune.net.