Base access evolves, heightens security

Published Jan. 12, 2009
By Thea Skinner
21st Space Wing Public Affairs

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Peterson is implementing a system that combines human power with technology to enhance force protection here. To get in on this cutting edge system, or to get onto Peterson AFB, all authorized personnel and visitors must register with the Defense Biometric Identification System known as DBIDS.

Being a part of DBIDS will soon be the only way to gain access to Peterson and eventually surrounding area bases.

How do you become a part of DBIDS? The answer is clear: register.

All authorized Peterson users including retirees, contractors and dependents must register with the system at one of three stations on Peterson AFB. DBIDS registration is available at the West Gate Visitor Control Center, outside the Satellite Pharmacy in the Base Exchange, and at the Military Personnel Section on the first floor of Bldg. 350. The Satellite Pharmacy DBIDS registration station will be available only until Jan 31.

Registration hours are listed at the end of this article.

No special paperwork is required for registration. To register, individuals must provide the ID cards they currently use for base access, a fingerprint, and updated information about their unit and/or address, and mission essential or non-mission essential status to one of the three registration stations.

Who will DBIDS effect? The answer: everyone.

Anyone with DOD ID cards who requires access to Peterson must register. This includes military whether stationed at Peterson, living at Peterson, or for any reason needing access to Peterson. This also includes civilian employees, contractors, retiree ID card holders, military family members, and commercial vendors. Even people who conduct business on Peterson irregularly for short periods of time will receive DBIDS encoded visitor passes.

What does registration do?
Registration of ID cards creates a heightened level of security, accessibility and compliance. That means the people living and working on Peterson AFB will now be safer and more secure. Registration will allow the 21st Space Wing to create and manage the DBIDS database, which contains all authorized people who can enter Peterson AFB. The database contains much of the same personal information that is normally found when people obtain their military identification card. Registration turns the bar code on your ID into an added security measure. When you register, it helps the base ensure in more certain terms than ever before that only "good guys" are allowed through the gate.

"We have taken the human error element out of it." said Master Sgt. Tristum Darby, Security Forces noncommissioned officer in charge of Police Services and DBIDS provost marshal site manager. "We are taking the security of the individuals' bar code and registering it in the system. You must be physically present in order to register your card in the system."

Special DBIDS ID cards will be issued to those individuals who are authorized access to Peterson, but not eligible for a DOD ID card, said Sergeant Darby

For example, an individual is a care provider for a retiree and cannot receive a DOD ID card, then the individual is issued a special DBIDS card that will allow them access to the base. In this situation the retiree would need to be with the care provider to register and to enter the base.

When will DBIDS begin to be used at Peterson?
Installation entry controllers will begin scanning ID cards for all seeking base access beginning mid January. In order to facilitate a smooth transition, the base will wait until March 1, before turning away all unregistered ID card holder and directing them to register before attempting to enter the base.

What's the History of DBIDS?
Installations overseas are using the system, and eleven U.S. bases will implement the system by late January, Sergeant Darby said. DBIDS was first introduced at military bases in Korea in 2001 and has been instituted at many overseas locations. The program came to some stateside Army posts in 2004. Peterson AFB is the first Air Force stateside base to implement this system at a cost of approximately $250,000 and will service an expected 77,000 people who use the base on a regular basis. To date, more than 44,000 personnel have been registered here.

Equipment costs include scanners, computer systems and finger print machines, said Sergeant Darby.

What will DBIDS look like when implemented?
100 percent ID checks will be in effect. Every individual in every vehicle will need to show either a form of DBIDS registered DOD identification or an ID and DBIDS pass obtained from the VCC. Installation entry guards will use hand-held scanners to scan each ID card for individuals entering the base. The scanners will give either a red or green colored response based on the card's status. Green means access will be allowed and red means access will not be allowed. It is possible that there will be initial delays during peak hours.

"DBIDS not only allows us to better monitor base and Department of Defense access, but provides Peterson AFB with a flexible and scalable force protection tool through the use of biometrics," said 1st Lt. Tamera Fischer-Carter, a member of the 21st Security Forces Squadron and key player in DBIDS planning.

An additional benefit of DBIDS is the ability to code specific people for specific access during times of crisis. For example, if the base was shut down for an emergency response, mission essential members needed to form the Commanders Senior Staff, Emergency Operations Center, Unit Control Centers and members living on base could be coded for access during a crisis. Individuals should provide this information at the time of DBIDS registration. This increase in accessibility and efficiency could save lives and reduce property damage by getting the right people in the right jobs to their crisis centers without undue delay.

When are registration hours and where?
"Instead of having to go to the Visitor Control Center we want to bring the service to the customer." said "Once you get to the counter it only takes about five minutes to register and/or update information," said Lieutenant Fischer-Carter.

The mobile stations at the following locations and hours:

BX satellite pharmacy through Jan. 31:
Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Bldg 350 near Military Personnel Section:
Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The West Gate VCC
6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

For customer convenience, the 21st SFS recommends the following registration schedule for units on Peterson and Cheyenne Mountain for the month of January.

721st Mission Support Group, Jan. 12-16 at VCC and Bldg. 350
ARSTRAT, Jan. 19-23 at VCC and Bldg 350
NORAD/USNORTHCOM, Jan. 26-30 at VCC and Bldg 350