Drivers coming on post June 3 will find it a little easier to enter the installation made some changes to its access control point hours.
The adjusted hours “actually opens the gates a little earlier,” said Col. Timothy Hickman, garrison commander during the retiree breakfast, May 16 as part of Retiree Appreciation Days.
“Those of you who work over by the 81st (Readiness Division) or perhaps by the (Military Entrance Processing Station off Marion Avenue) will see more consistent times and more predictable times so we can get people on and off here as fast as we can” in a most efficient way “without bankrupting ourselves over hiring gate guards.”
The post would like to open the gates even longer, but “fiscal realities,” as Hickman called them, precludes the post from doing so.
These realities come from the Army stating the post should only operate gates 2 and 4 due to the amount of traffic entering the installation each day.
“We know that that is absolutely not the case,” Hickman said. “Can you imagine all those cars coming through today through Gate 2? Right, so we collectively Fort Jackson decided to operate one extra Gate 1 and then Gate 5 because we acknowledge so much growth happening” in the surrounding community.
Fort Jackson guards scan all identification cards in a car as part of the post’s plan to convince the Army to fund another gate.
“The scans are what the Army’s using to calculate how many guards you need,” Hickman said. “So, if we only do one scan we are doing only a quarter of the people who come on post.
“So that’s why we are pretty persistent about scanning everybody in the car, so we can show them how many people come here.”
Gate 1’s extended hours were only made possible by the 81st paying to keep the gate open longer.
The new hours are:
- Gate 1: 5 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.*
- Gate 2: Open 24 hours
- Gate 2 Visitor Control Center: 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Gate 4: 5 a.m. to 5 p.m.*
- Gate 4 Visitor Control Center: 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.*
- Gate 5: 5-8 a.m. and 3-5 p.m.*
- * (Closed Saturdays, Sundays and Federal Holidays)
Those with questions can ask them at the Community Information Exchange from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., June 13 at the 1917 Club.
On-post activities, directorates and Partners in Excellence will be on hand to update the community on upcoming events and answer questions.
Those who cannot make the CIE in person can watch it live via Facebook at the U.S. Army Garrison Fort Jackson Facebook page. Questions can be sent ahead of time by messaging that page at: https://www.facebook.com/USArmyGarrisonFortJackson.
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