thedrifter
07-02-07, 04:46 AM
Courtesy patrols keeping Okinawa bar district safe
By Cindy Fisher, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Monday, July 2, 2007
Every Friday and Saturday night from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., two staff noncommissioned officers clad in conservative civilian attire stroll the Kitamea Street outside Camp Foster's Gate 2 in the name of courtesy.
The "courtesy patrol," established in 1997, is a command program in which Camp Foster units provide members to watch for problems during off-duty hours, said Col. Russ Jones, Camp Foster's Headquarters and Service Battalion commander.
"We identify issues (and) talk to the owners of the establishments to see if there are any concerns," he said.
It's reminiscent of shore patrol, but without the law enforcement, he said.
"We're not there as a police force," he said.
The courtesy patrol isn't authorized to check military identification cards and is instructed to contact Japanese police in serious situations, Jones said.
The patrols have the added benefit of sending a "positive message to our Okinawa hosts on our commitment to maintaining the standards of conduct expected of the military," said the battalion's Sgt. Maj. William F. Fitzgerald.
The idea is to resolve situations before they become an issue, Fitzgerald said.
During his time as commander, Jones said, he's had no incidents with the courtesy patrol and no problems on Kitamea Street.
Friday- and Saturday-night sobriety checkpoints at all Camp Foster and Lester outbound gates have helped curb off-base incidents, he said.
Driving under the influence is a big concern, he said, especially in light of the deaths of two Kadena Air Base soldiers involved in a car crash.
"In the last 12 months where we've had sobriety checks, incidents are down," he said. "No one has left Foster and then gotten in trouble."
Jones said further proof of the command's intolerance of drunken driving is a policy that if Marines or sailors get any kind of citation for such an offense, they lose their driving privileges for the rest of their tour on Okinawa.
Ellie
By Cindy Fisher, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Monday, July 2, 2007
Every Friday and Saturday night from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., two staff noncommissioned officers clad in conservative civilian attire stroll the Kitamea Street outside Camp Foster's Gate 2 in the name of courtesy.
The "courtesy patrol," established in 1997, is a command program in which Camp Foster units provide members to watch for problems during off-duty hours, said Col. Russ Jones, Camp Foster's Headquarters and Service Battalion commander.
"We identify issues (and) talk to the owners of the establishments to see if there are any concerns," he said.
It's reminiscent of shore patrol, but without the law enforcement, he said.
"We're not there as a police force," he said.
The courtesy patrol isn't authorized to check military identification cards and is instructed to contact Japanese police in serious situations, Jones said.
The patrols have the added benefit of sending a "positive message to our Okinawa hosts on our commitment to maintaining the standards of conduct expected of the military," said the battalion's Sgt. Maj. William F. Fitzgerald.
The idea is to resolve situations before they become an issue, Fitzgerald said.
During his time as commander, Jones said, he's had no incidents with the courtesy patrol and no problems on Kitamea Street.
Friday- and Saturday-night sobriety checkpoints at all Camp Foster and Lester outbound gates have helped curb off-base incidents, he said.
Driving under the influence is a big concern, he said, especially in light of the deaths of two Kadena Air Base soldiers involved in a car crash.
"In the last 12 months where we've had sobriety checks, incidents are down," he said. "No one has left Foster and then gotten in trouble."
Jones said further proof of the command's intolerance of drunken driving is a policy that if Marines or sailors get any kind of citation for such an offense, they lose their driving privileges for the rest of their tour on Okinawa.
Ellie