Airman's eagle eye helps turn away impersonator

Published Oct. 16, 2007
By Corey Dahl
21st Space Wing Public Affairs

PETERSON AFB, Colo. -- Something just wasn't right.

Working at the visitors' center last September, Staff Sgt. Sabrina Lukas had an uneasy feeling about the three-star general she was waiting on.

The older man, who said he needed to obtain decals for his vehicle, was wearing a uniform, but the stars were just a little too large.

At first glance, his ID seemed OK, but closer scrutiny showed it was fake.

And then there was the man's striking resemblance to a photograph Sergeant Lukas had seen just days earlier - one of a man who had been impersonating generals to gain access to local military bases.

"He looked like he could be a general," Sergeant Lukas said. "It's just when you looked closely that you noticed everything's all wrong. I was 92 percent sure he was the impersonator."

Sergeant Lukas was right to have her suspicions. The man at the visitors' center that day was the impersonator Sergeant Lukas and her unit had been warned about. Posing as a general, the man had gained access to two other Colorado bases earlier in the month.

But he didn't make it onto Peterson. Acting on her instincts, Sergeant Lukas stalled the man while she looked his name up in the database to confirm her suspicions. The man, however, sensed something was wrong and started to get antsy.

"He got really nervous and started telling me he didn't want the decals, he just needed to get on base to go get a drink and use the bathroom," Sergeant Lukas said. "I just kept telling him he could use the bathroom here. I didn't want to alert him that I knew who he was, and I didn't want to scare anybody in the visitors' center."

The man eventually caught on, though. Snatching his fake ID back, he ran out to his car, chased by Sergeant Lukas. When she couldn't stop his car, Sergeant Lukas did her best to get his license plate number and a vehicle description for police.

Though Sergeant Lukas didn't capture the man that day - he was later apprehended in Denver and the situation is under investigation - she later received an Eagle Eye coin for her efforts, delivered by Col. Jay Raymond, 21st Space Wing commander and Chief Master Sgt. Timothy Omdal, 21st Space Wing command chief.

Sergeant Lukas said she was proud to receive the recognition and only wishes she could have done more.

"I felt proud that we didn't let him on the base," she said. "We deal with high profile people all the time, so we didn't allow his high rank to influence our decision. I still feel like I should have done more, though. I wish we could have caught him."

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