PDA

View Full Version : Lejeune may institute electronic ID system



thedrifter
04-09-07, 09:25 AM
Lejeune may institute electronic ID system
By Trista Talton - Staff writer
Posted : April 16, 2007

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — Closing a road that the public has been able to use for decades and installing spikes at each gate are just the beginning of the “security sphere” developing here.

Now Camp Lejeune, N.C., may contract with a company that provides electronic identification systems to several Army bases and Camp Pendleton, Calif.

A Lejeune spokesman said the program — RAPIDGate — is being reviewed by the provost marshal’s office for consideration.

The program, administered by the Portland, Ore.-based company Eid Passport, Inc., is geared toward the non-government workforce, such as construction workers and delivery drivers.

Lejeune has been upgrading its security measures as of late. In a move that has sparked controversy among area civilian residents, the base closed off a widely-used highway popular to commuters and tourists April 2. Only Department of Defense pass holders may use the road.

Tire deflation devices are also being installed at each gate this year. Construction at the gates is being staggered throughout the year, with the last of the devices being installed at the main gate. Construction there will begin July 7 and wrap up at the end of September.

While sharp spikes will keep an unauthorized vehicle from getting anywhere fast, RAPIDGate will help keep unauthorized civilians off the base, said Rick Sykes, director of business development for Eid Passport.

“The benefit for the government is now they know who’s coming on the facility,” he said.

The program can help filter out undocumented workers hired by subcontractors, Sykes said. Over the span of two weeks in August 2005, 57 undocumented workers were apprehended at Camp Lejeune, so it’s an issue here.

Workers who go through the program to gain base access have extensive background checks, Sykes said.

Here’s how it works: base officials approve a subcontractor or vendor. The contractor must register with Eid Passport and submit the names and Social Security numbers of each employee seeking base access. Eid runs a background check, which takes four to five days. Eid sends “runners” to county courthouses to review records during the background check, Sykes said.

If the person’s record is clean, he gets an electronic identification card. The card will be scanned at a base gate.

“It makes getting on base a lot easier, a lot quicker,” Sykes said.

That’s because subcontractors and vendors who use the electronic cards will no longer have to wait in line at the base visitor center to register their vehicles, he said.

But the process comes at a cost to contractors, who must pay a $199 annual registration fee. The cost per badge, per year is $159.
First to sign up

Fort Lewis, an Army base near Tacoma, Wash., was the first military installation to sign up for RAPIDGate four years ago. Of the 2,500 registered participants there, 63 failed the initial background check, according to the company.

Today, more than 800 companies are participating in the program at Fort Lewis. Eid maintains a 96 percent annual renewal rate with those participating companies, Sykes said.

Camp Pendleton last year became the first Marine Corps base to use the program. Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Twentynine Palms, Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, and the Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport — all in California — are under contract with Eid, according to the company, as well as MCAS Yuma, Ariz.

Sykes said he hopes Camp Lejeune will start the program within the next two or three months.

Ellie