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JBSA News
NEWS | Jan. 4, 2010

Randolph ID card holders required to register for enhanced base-entry system

By Robert Goetz 12th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs

Everyone who enters Randolph Air Force Base, from active-duty personnel and reservists to retirees and visitors, will soon be required to register their common access or other Department of Defense-authorized ID cards as Randolph implements a new, more secure base-entry system.

Registration for the Defense Biometric Identification System, which uses scanning devices to manage access at DoD installations, is already under way at Randolph, starting with 12th Maintenance Directorate military and civilian personnel, who are registering their ID cards in the Taj Mahal this week.

Personnel at other units should also register their ID cards according to a schedule that will continue through June. Next on the schedule are Air Force Personnel Center service members, civilians and contractors, who can register any day next week from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Building 499.

"Ideally, you should come at your prescribed time," said Master Sgt. Andrew Rodriguez, 12th Security Forces Squadron Installation Security Section NCOIC. "We won't turn anybody away, but if it is not your organization's week, priority will be given to members of the organization that is scheduled."

Registration, which takes less than five minutes, will be carried out at two permanent stations at the Visitor Center, Bldg. 1021, and at one mobile station that will be placed at a variety of locations. The stations at the Visitor Center will be open during duty hours and on Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. throughout the six-month registration period; the mobile station will be available at times scheduled for the base's organizations and for specified open registration periods.

"Open registration is for retirees, dependents and those not able to make it during their scheduled time, such as members who have been deployed or will be deployed," Sergeant Rodriguez said.

Open registration periods will begin the week of May 3 and conclude the week of June 28.

DBIDS is an Air Force-wide initiative developed to enhance force protection. It is already operational at some bases overseas and in the continental United States and is being implemented throughout the Air Education and Training Command.

"It will help vet people coming onto an installation," Sergeant Rodriguez said. "It will provide a connection to law enforcement databases and will spot legitimate versus bogus ID cards. The actual scanning of the cards by gate guards only takes two to three seconds."

Other benefits are giving guards visual and audible crosschecks to verify identities, allowing ID card holders to enter any base within the region they have permission to enter and providing retirees with permanent registration.

Gate guards scanning ID cards will see a red or green display at the bottom of their scanner screens. A red display will say "stop" and indicate why base entry is not authorized, giving up to 16 different invalid ID messages. In addition to showing if access is authorized or denied, the scanner allows a gate guard to see a detail view that provides more information about the card holder. The photo of the card holder will be an image taken when the card was registered in DBIDS.

Telos Corp., a Virginia-based company, has installed the DBIDS database with pre-loaded information that allows initial base access to current CAC and other DoD-authorized card holders; registration will allow the ID cards to be imbedded with additional information.

According to information provided by AETC, DBIDS will be gradually integrated into day-to-day operations but will eventually become mandatory for base access. People who have not registered their ID cards will be redirected to the Visitor Center for registration once the system becomes mandatory.

"Our long-term goal is to get everybody registered within six months," Sergeant Rodriguez said. "All that is required is your CAC or DoD-issued ID."