JOINT BASE SAN ANONIO-LACKLAND, Texas –
The Transportation Security Administration marked the grand
opening of their new canine training center with a ribbon cutting ceremony March
4 at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland.
The newly built, 25,000 square foot facility expands the
mission capabilities of the existing TSA Canine Training Center at
JBSA-Lackland, which trains and deploys approximately 250 TSA-led and state and
local law enforcement-led canine teams to protect the U.S. transportation
domain and operate in aviation, multimodal, mass transit and cargo environments
to provide a visual deterrent to terrorism, according to Carrie Harmon, TSA
spokesperson.
“This new facility is an ideal complement to the existing
training center campus, where our canines and handlers come to learn the skills
necessary to demonstrate proficiency in four key elements: the canines ability
to recognize explosive odors, the handler’s ability to interpret the canines’
change in behavior, the handler’s ability to conduct logical and systematic
searches and the team’s ability to locate the explosives odor source,” said TSA
Administrator Peter Neffenger during the ribbon cutting ceremony.
The new facility houses seven classrooms and 13 indoor
venues that mimic various transportation sites such as a cargo facility, an
airport gate, a checkpoint, a baggage claim area, the interior of an aircraft,
a vehicle parking lot, a light rail car and an air cargo facility, Harmon said.
The TSA, a Department of Homeland Security entity, has a
longstanding relationship with the Air Force, specifically the 341st Training
Squadron’s Military Working Dog School.
Since 1972, the DOD canine training center has been
co-located with the MWD school, as the latter provides trained military working
dogs, handlers, trainers and kennel masters to not only the TSA, but the entire
Department of Defense and other government allies.
The squadron belongs to the 37th Training Wing,
the Air Force’s largest training wing with technical training ranging from
security forces, vehicle operations and special operations courses.
While the mission of the TSA has grown from 56 to 900
dog/handler teams since 2001, the 341st TRS has consistently met and exceeded
the organizations mission requirements by providing highly trained personnel
and canines to the program, said Col. Alexander Smith, 502nd Installation
Support Group commander during remarks at the ceremony. Smith also alluded to
the joint-force concept leading to the continued success of the program and the
expedient construction of the facility, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was
responsible for the construction contract for the center.
All TSA canine teams will continue to travel to
JBSA-Lackland to train in the facility and take either the Explosives Detection
Canine Handler course or the Passenger Screening Canine course. The extensive
training space allows for a more realistic training environment and the
capability to increase the amount of canine teams trained each year, according
to Chris Shelton, TSA Canine Training Center supervisory air marshal in charge.
“All of those individuals from the police departments, state
patrols and other federal agencies will come here and train and they will go
back to their home locations with TSA provided canines and training to support
the mission of keeping the public safe,” Shelton said.
For more information on the TSA, visit http://www.tsa.gov.