By Justin Creech
Staff writer
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Product Manager, Force Protection Systems, demonstrated new installation protection technology at Tulley Gate July 26 to show emergency management personnel, Families and employees at Fort Belvoir one of the systems that will be implemented on post by the end of August.
The event included a live demonstration of the Automated Installation Entry, the Integrated Commercial Intrusion Detection System, Installation Protection Integration Platform, unmanned ground sensors and ground vehicles.
AIE will be implemented on post by the end of August, but will not be fully operational for a few more months. The goal is to increase installation safety and reduce gate-guard to task volume.
“The main goal is to show the tactical systems being fielded in Afghanistan right now,” said Joe Wieland, PM, FPS Assistant Product Manager (Installations). “What we are looking at is, ‘How do you improve security while reducing guard to task numbers?’”
The AIE system will require post entrants to swipe their CACs (Common Access Card) and do a fingerprint read which will bring up their profile on the database and show whether or not they have access to the installation. The person’s picture will also be taken while he or she swipes their card so the guard can see if the correct person is using the credentials.
When the PM, FPS demonstrated these capabilities using two gates, they were able to get six cars-per-minute through each gate.
“This tells us not only can you have a guard watching multiple lanes, but you can potentially not have a guard there at all,” said Wieland. “So, all you would need the guards for is dealing with people whose cards are expired or who were never registered to begin with.”
The IP2 system will help guard against people who try to get through the gate without swiping their identification cards.
The example used during the demonstration was a driver tailgating the person in front of him to get through the gate. If something like this happens, the IP2 system will send a signal to the Emergency Operating Center.
“If there’s a problem, the system will send an alarm and the EOC can make a decision on whether or not they want to send out a reaction force of MP’s or something else,” said Jon Moneyhun, PM, FPS deputy project manager.
Post employees will register their CACs and get their fingerprints taken at a kiosk that PM, FPS sets up on post.
Families and employees on post should be excited about the new technology, according to Wieland, because the AIE system will detect whether or not the person trying to enter post is swiping a valid credential, and the IP2 program will send out an immediate response if emergency personnel are needed.
“Right now, you are relying on a guard flipping a badge and trusting that credential is a good credential,” said Wieland. “Moving forward, you’re going to be able to see if that credential is expired or if it has been revoked. With some of the instances in the Army the last few years, having this kind of technology on the gate has prevented people from entering post that don’t need to be on post.”
