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LOCATION - Much like a base in the U.S., the 379th Air Expeditionary
Wing relies on work from locals to help ensure service members are
used for mission essential work.
Here, the base relies on other
country nationals to work on base and provide service members with
food, haircuts, cashiers, laundry, construction and various jobs
throughout the installation.
In order to ensure the safety
of all troops, each other country national must first go through the
personnel search area and be put into the Defense Biometrics
Identification System. Airmen from the 379th Expeditionary Security
Forces Squadron run these programs 24/7, every day of the year.
“On a daily basis we screen OCNs to
ensure they have the proper access to come on to the installation,
and it can be quite the challenge,” said Senior Airman Brandon
Shelton, 379th SFS DBIDS registrar who is deployed from Dover Air
Force Base, Del., and a Frederick, Md. native. “DBIDS, which
collects information on each OCN, is a great program which keeps
track of who is on the installation at all times.”
DBIDS
collects biometric data through fingerprints, hand scans and
photographs from all other country nationals who work on the
installation. Before biometrics can be taken from each person, other
country nationals must go through the personnel search area, which
is guarded by members of the 379th ESFS.
Senior Airman
Vanessa Sanchez , 379th ESFS response team leader who is deployed
from Dover AFB and a Chambersburg, Pa. native, said, “A day manning
the personnel search area is never the same as the last. We have a
large number of people go through the search area every day and each
one of them must be searched to ensure no contraband is brought onto
base.”
“It is an honor to do what I do,” she explained.
“Although finding the right balance of being polite and professional
while being affirmative and authoritative can be a challenge during
the rush hours, I feel a great sense of pride in doing my job. It
makes me feel great knowing I make a difference in keeping service
members on the base safe.”
Whether other country nationals
are processing through the search area or are getting their
biometrics taken through DBIDS, language barriers create the most
challenging part of the operation, Shelton said.
“Trying to
explain fingerprinting to someone who doesn't speak English and has
never heard of biometrics before is by far the most complicated part
of the job,” Shelton said. “We have to act out and show them how to
place their hand and fingers. I'm sure the Airmen who work the
search area deal with the same language barrier.”
After
screening through the personnel search area and getting cleared
through DBIDS, other country nationals are escorted and monitored
throughout their stay on the installation, Shelton said.
“The search area and DBIDS are the first line of defense for the
base,” Shelton said. “Nothing would get done without the team here
and the airmen who work the search area. Together we keep the base
safe.”
By USAF Senior Airman Jared Trimarchi
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2014
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