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High-tech search area keeps American, coaltion forces secure

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Cassandra Locke
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  To ensure the safety and security of base members, Airmen search about 900 people and 500 vehicles on a daily basis using high-tech equipment and canines.

Members of the 379th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron inspect vehicles entering the base and ensure the third country nationals coming onto base are free of potential hazards to the base.

All vehicles entering the base must go through the search pit where 379th ESFS members search the interior and exterior of vehicles. The squadron's military working dogs also search every vehicle that enters the search pit.

"The search pit is critical because of the threat to all American and coalition forces," said Tech. Sgt. Steve Neith, the 379th ESFS search pit flight chief. "We want to make sure that the base population is safe and our resources are secure. We search mainly for improvised explosive devices and vehicle borne explosive devices." 

To do so, Airmen search roughly 15,000 vehicles and approximately 27,000 people a month, Sergeant Neith said. 

Third country nationals have to go though a process every day that involves high technology equipment such as metal detectors and machines that specifically look for biohazards and explosive residue. If one of the detectors senses a biohazard or explosive trace, then the individual will proceed through the machine again to rule out any false positives. If the detector goes off again, then the third country national will be scanned by an X-ray machine that is designed to see under layers of clothes without penetrating tissue.

"Hundreds of TCNs are thoroughly searched every day as they come onto the base," said Sergeant Neith.

The base is currently setting up a high- tech process in which third country nationals will be enrolled in the Defense Biometric Identification System, called DBIDS.

The purpose of DBIDS is to establish one identity token for the entire federal government and is used to manage installation access control for military installations. DBIDS uses an individual's biometrics to verify their identity before gaining access to the base, thereby reducing the risk of identity theft and unauthorized access. DBIDS can also verify any past criminal history or run fingerprints of suspected terrorists.

"This technology enables us to research data logs of who was on the installation or in a secured area at the time of an incident," Sergeant Neith said.

While the primary focus of the search pit's mission is to search for IEDs and VBIEDs, sometimes they run into other things that need to be reported.

Though the search pit is available to ensure safety and security, people need to be responsible for avoiding potentially harmful situations and seeing a problem before coming onto the base. 

When traveling off base, it's everyone's responsibility to do a vehicle check anytime they are parked regardless of your destination, said Tech. Sgt. Chaun Bonk of the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing force protection section. 

"Personnel need to check the under-carriage of the vehicle as well as under the dashboard, seat and check for protruding wires outside of the gas tanks," she said.

The sergeant also said to park in a well-lit area to avoid being tampered with. There's more of a chance someone will tamper with the vehicle if parked in a dark area.

"The 379th ESFS Airmen are highly trained professionals who take the role at the search pit very seriously," Sergeant Neith said. "We're proud of what we do to contribute to the war on terrorism." 

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