The White Falcon - 22.12.1978, Blaðsíða 4

Page 4
White Falcon
Security Department
50 people keeping you safe
Keeping the Naval Station well
patrolled is just one of the many
jobs of the 50 men and women of the
U.S. Naval Station, Keflavik Secur-
ity Department. Under the leader-
ship of Security Officer Commander
Daniel R. Cowan and Assistant Sec-
urity Officer Chief Boatswain's
Mate George White, each man and wo-
man performs a multiple of jobs to
keep everyone on the agreed area
safe and law-abiding.
The majority of the patrol force
is made up of non-designated non-
rated (E-3 and below) personnel.
"Most of the non-rates are assign-
ed to Security by the Personnel Of-
fice upon checking in at Keflavik,"
said Chief of Police Chief Quarter-
master John P. Schnur. "We very
seldom get designated strikers, be-
cause the Navy prefers to send those
"A" school graduates straight to
the jobs they've been trained for."
However, petty officers are as-
signed to Security, and are inform-
ed before their arrival to Kefla-
vik by a sponsor from the Security
Department.
The Security force can be and is
composed of people from any rating
in the Navy, as only one rate deals
strictly with law enforcement. The
Master At Arms (MA) rating begins
at the petty officer first class
level. Prior to taking the first
class exam, an MA 'striker' can be
any rate from an Aviation Boats-
wain's Mate to a Yeoman.
"All non-designated strikers
who show the initiative to strike
for a specific rating in the lower
ranks are given as much help as the
Department can possibly give," said
QMC Schnur. "Inter-departmental
transfers have been approved for
those who requested them, for both
non-rated personnel and petty offi-
cers. Individuals are not held
back just because they have not at-
tended "A" schools."
The Security Department is bro-
ken down into five divisions: Pol-
ice, Administrative, Investigative,
Customs/Contraband and Military Cus-
toms .
Currently, there are four pat-
rol sections and two patrol stand-
by Sections in the Police Division.
"Watch sections fluctuate upon man-
ning levels; we have gone down to
three levels when manpower was not
at its peak," said Chief Schnur.
December 22. 197,
*
Story by J03 B onnie van Zuu
Photos by PH3 Je sse Williams
SA A.A. GEARHART OF THE ADMIN Division of Security takes a customer's
picture for his new ID card. The first women were assigned only to
Admin, but women now sit gates and patrol with the men.
SNIFFING FOR ILLEGAL DRUGS is Oakey,
a black Labrador trained for drug
detection. Handler HTl J.M. Har-
mon leads Oakey through the maneu-
vers .
Early 1978 saw the first women
stand gate duties. "The first wo-
men joined the force in early 1976,
before then there were not enough
women on the base," said Chief of
Police Schnur, "At that time, there
were only women assigned to the
Admin division. However, since
early this year, six women have
been assigned to Security - two
work for Admin, two are in Gate
Patrol, and two more are fully
qualified in all areas and work
The patrolmen perform security
patrol, traffic accident investiga-
tions, gate sentry duties, school-
bus and safety patrols, escorts for
money facilities on base, in addi-
tion to responding to any and all
emergencies from disturbances to
fires and traffic accidents. The
patrol men and women of the patrol
sections also direct traffic in
cases of accidents or social func-
tions such as change of command
ceremonies.
Before any patrol person is as-
signed to a patrol section, he or
she is first placed in a Patrol
Standby section, or Gate Patrol.
"The length of time a person spends
in the standby section varies on
each individual's learning power,"
said Chief Schnur. "The average
length of time is about one to two
months. We try to rotate our peop-
le to different aspects so that
they may be efficient in all areas,
and not become stale or bored with
their job." An average for the
person here on a one year tour is
two or three months in Gate Patrol
and about nine months in a patrol
section.
The patrol person works a 12
hour shift, beginning either at 7
a.m. or 7 p.m. The watch bill is
rotated every two weeks. "This
allows our people to adjust their
sleeping habits. It's hard to get
used to the varied hours in a short-
er