Fort Campbell will make changes to access control point procedures starting Jan. 10 to comply with the REAL ID Act, a law passed by Congress in 2005 that established security standards for identification.
The law came about to implement changes recommended by the 9/11 Commission to keep Americans safe from harm caused by terrorists who obtained official state-issued identification.
As of Jan. 10, six states will be noncompliant with REAL ID – Kentucky, Maine, Montana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. Currently, Minnesota, Missouri and Washington are noncompliant. Many other states and territories are either under review, have limited extensions or some other type of pending action. Twenty-five states are currently in full compliance with the REAL ID act.
Richard Marc Rollins, Fort Campbell’s installation access control program manager, said that people wishing to access Fort Campbell with an identification issued from a state that does not meet the REAL ID Act standards, will have to show additional documentation to obtain a visitor’s pass. This has the potential to affect many people from states, especially Kentucky, that have driver’s licenses that do not comply with the federal law.
“There are several states that are not going to be granted a waiver,” Rollins said. “As of Jan. 10, we will no longer be able to accept the Kentucky driver’s license without a second form of ID. The senior commander has approved various documents that we will begin utilizing at the visitor control center as a second form of ID to go along with that Kentucky driver’s license.”
Jovita R. Titman, Fort Campbell’s chief of guards, said that many common documents will allow people who have noncompliant identifications to obtain a visitor’s pass. Visitors can present a second form of approved identification such as a valid passport, vehicle registration, birth certificate, DD Form 214, social security card, a valid U.S. veteran’s identification card, marriage certificate or license to obtain the pass. “They will have to go to the visitor control center for the pass,” Titman said. “It will depend on what their purpose is on the installation [to determine] how long of a pass they will get, but they will have to go to the visitor control center and show both of those [IDs] to get a pass to gain access.”
Deanna L. Cote, Fort Campbell’s chief of physical security, does not anticipate this change causing delays for oncoming traffic because most people who live and work on Fort Campbell have compliant identification.
“People who already have a DOD ID card or other approved identification are not affected,” Cote said. “So it’s just the visitors and uncleared contractors to the installation. … It will not have any impact on the gate operations, it will be within the visitor control center because everybody who does not have a DOD ID card has to go through [the VCC] to get a pass.”
People who use a second form of ID to obtain a visitor’s pass will need to show that with the visitor’s pass and the noncompliant driver’s license at the access control points, Titman said.
Also, if a person is traveling with a DOD ID card holder, they will not have to obtain a visitor’s pass or show extra documents as long as they have a personal relationship and the DOD ID card holder vouches for that person.
“If the DOD ID card holder vouches for a person through the trusted traveler program then there is no issue with a person coming into the post with just their Kentucky driver’s license,” Cote said.
For more information about the REAL ID act visit www.dhs.gov/current-status-states-territories.