MARINE CORPS AIR STATION YUMA,Ariz. -- About 20 station military policemen, with help from government agencies, screened all civilian contractors entering the air station through the main gate during the early morning of Nov. 1.
The inter-agency security operation, which included representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Criminal Intelligence Service and the Joint Anti-terrorism Task Force, was part of the station’s on-going random anti-terrorism measures and helped ensure that the many contractors working here do not pose a threat to the installation, said Capt. Terry Johnson, station provost marshal.
Inspections on this scale have never been done before, but the method and type of the inspections are the same as those done regularly by MPs at the gates, Johnson said.
“This is something that we do every day, it just so happens that today we’re going to throw a little more energy into it and look at the contractors, just to make sure everything we’ve got going on is good to go,” said Johnson on the morning of the screening.
MPs routed the contractors through the gate and into the parking lot of Building 852, where two drive-through inspection stations were set up around PMO’s mobile command post, which provided lighting and communications during the operation. The MPs checked the contractors’ documentation and used wireless scanners to verify the validity of their identification cards. The scanners bounced the contractors’ information through a database of terrorist lists and criminal wants, warrants and histories, and helped identify persons that may deserve further investigation, said Staff Sgt. Timothy Hall, PMO training staff noncommissioned officer-in-charge.
None of the contractors were detained during the inspection, though the patrolmen found a lot of minor violations such as expired vehicle passes, Hall said.
There has been a national trend of undocumented workers and unauthorized individuals forging passes and identification cards to gain access to military installations in recent months. This inspection helped PMO evaluate their current security procedures and see if any changes need to be made, said Hall.
“We were out there to be proactive for the air station, rather than reactive,” he said. “A lot of bases around the nation have had to be reactive, and hopefully we won’t get in that position.”
Hall said he was pleased with the result of the operation and feels the slight inconvenience to the contractors was well worth ensuring the safety of the air station.
“I’m happy to see that the installation is taking a more proactive role in looking for individuals or things that could be a hazard to the installation,” said Hall. “We don’t just have a responsibility to the Marines that work on this base; we have a responsibility to the civilians that work here and the family members that live here as well.”