FORT JACKSON, S.C. (March 12, 2015) -- Fort Jackson is among the few installations to meet tougher security standards implemented in 2014.
Last fall, visitors were required to have local access credentials before being allowed on post. Previously, you needed only a valid driver's license to gain entry, but access to federal installations was restricted last October in the wake of gun violence that took place at a war memorial in Ottawa, Canada.
New federal regulations require visitors, contractors and other civilians to undergo background checks and to receive temporary identification cards in order to pass through Fort Jackson's gates.
"As of a couple of weeks ago, only five of 24 garrisons in IMCOM's Atlantic Region had met U.S. Army guidance in regards to gate access," said Col. Michael Graese, Fort Jackson garrison commander. "Fort Jackson was one of those garrisons."
Fred Vasquez, installation physical security officer, said Fort Jackson had begun work on meeting new security demands before they were even implemented.
"I had a feeling this was coming down," he said. "The writing was on the wall, so we started (vetting visitors) a while back, beginning with contractors. That's why we were ahead of the power curve."
"We were only able to reach this goal through a spectacular display of teamwork across all of Fort Jackson. This included military, families of military, civilians, retirees and our local community," Graese said. "The coordination between the (Directorate of Emergency Services) and the (Operations Office) was particularly critical."
Vasquez said Fort Jackson is at "100 percent compliance" with the new measures, with one important exception: Because of its status as a training installation, the post must deal with hundreds of new visitors each week because of graduation events.
"The commanding general has categorized Family Day and graduation day a 'special event,'" Vasquez said. "There are some compensatory measures in place for that. What we're doing is providing a pass that is only available to family members."
Passes are based on the duration of the event, which can be from a few hours to a maximum of 59 days. The passes that are issued to visitors for graduation events are valid for only that week and are coded so that they cannot be reused the following week.
"The pass has different emblems on it, and only we know which emblems are going on it," Vasquez said. "It's a compensatory measure we're taking to expedite access to the installation. And, at the same time, provide the best community service possible."
Plans call for eventually vetting all visitors to Fort Jackson, even during graduation.
"We plan on opening up a permanent Visitor Control Center with all the assets so we can vet everyone," he said. "In order to do that, I'm going to need an additional 13 people, as well as National Crime Information Center capabilities. That's in the works right now."
Since the new security standards were implemented last August, he said, guards have confiscated more than 1,100 ID cards reported stolen, lost or expired. Guards have served more than 350 warrants while vetting contractors.
The process also allows for criminal suspects to be easily identified.
"When we issue you a pass, we're still capturing a lot of your data," Vasquez said. "If you were to commit a crime on this installation, we've got a picture of you and we've got your vital information."
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