New Defenders at Barksdale

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Andrea F. Liechti
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. -- --  Base commuters will see slight changes at the gates here beginning Oct. 1 as DoD GS civilian police officers have been hired to replace the current contract gate guards.

The current gate guard contract expires Sept. 30 and members of the 2nd Security Forces Squadron have spent months planning for the transition, said Christopher Bowman, 2 SFS chief of plans and programs.

"The effectiveness of our mission here at Barksdale will be dramatically increased," he said. "The police officers, who will take the place of the current contractors, will be trained to work in a variety of locations on base. This will allow stability and a smoother transition when military personnel from Barksdale get deployed."

The DoD GS civilian police officers will rotate between law enforcement, flight line duty and manning the gates, allowing them to be fully integrated at Barksdale, said Bowman. This way, when 2 SFS Airmen get deployed, the DoD GS civilian police officers will be fully trained and prepared to watch over all areas of the base.

People at Barksdale should rest at ease knowing the security standard here will remain high at all times, Bowman said.

Forty-five DoD GS civilian police officers have already been hired to fill positions on base. Of those hired, 99 percent are prior military and more than 70 percent have prior law enforcement experience.

"In addition to their past experience, the new officers will be required to complete eight weeks of training," said Tony Sawyer, the lead trainer for the DoD GS civilian police officers.

The officers are required to complete five weeks of training at a law enforcement training center in Little Rock, Ark. They are also required to complete three weeks of training at Barksdale, Sawyer added.

"Our goal is to retain job-knowledge experts at all times," said Sawyer. "Maintaining continuity is extremely important to us."

Training for 11 of the new hires has already begun. The officers will be trained according to standards of the Air Force and will be familiar with the mission here, Sawyer stated.

Training for the first group is scheduled to wrap up just in time for the switch.

"This training will ensure a smooth transition," said Bowman. "The new navy blue uniforms will be the only change noticeable to the public."