Air Force mandates virtual outprocessing - Laughlin Air Force Base

4
Border
Eagle
May 5, 2006
Law enforcement agencies from
the local community joined forces April
28 with the Air Force Office of Special
Investigations and the 47th Security
Forces Squadron in an attempt to
locate illegal drugs on Laughlin. The
search yielded no drugs, but was considered
by the agencies involved to be
a successful deterrent to anyone who
may consider breaking the law on
base.
“Some criminals may think that
while on Laughlin they are protected
from civilian law enforcement agencies,”
said Special Agent Jessie
Garcia, AFOSI. “It’s not so. Those
agencies serve as a force multiplier,
allowing us to use methods we don’t
normally use. It creates a synergistic
effect.”
It is no secret that Laughlin is
home to an expansive civilian
workforce. More than 1,000 civilian
employees work hard alongside the
men and women in uniform here to
make the wing’s day-to-day mission
a reality.
When an infraction of the law occurs
on base involving or potentially
involving a non-military member, civilian
authorities may be called in to
help.
These agencies may include the
local sheriff’s office, U.S. Border Patrol,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
and the Department of Public
Safety in addition to security forces
and OSI.
“We have had a tremendous
working relationship with the local law
enforcement agencies,” said Maj.
Aeneas Gooding, 47th Security Forces
Squadron commander. “We work the
most with the Val Verde County
Sheriff’s Office, but we also depend
on the support of Border Patrol personnel,
and we enjoy a close relationship
with the Del Rio Police Department.”
Maj. Gooding said while each
agency might have slightly different
operating procedures, it doesn’t hinder
their working relationship, because
they all base their operations on the
same basic tenets of law enforcement.
Agent Garcia said OSI agents
must all attend the Federal Law
Enforcement training center in
Glynco, Ga. Excluding the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, this is the
same training facility all federal law
enforcement agents must attend,
which facilitates OSI working with
other law enforcement agencies as a
result of their similar background training.
Occasionally, local law enforcement
agencies will train with military
units.
“Any training we can conduct with
civilian agencies helps our ability to
work with them during crises,” Major
Gooding said. “In the past, we’ve conducted
everything from tactical training
(ground fighting and restraint techniques)
to incident-response training
and emergency operations management.”
Agent Garcia said Border Patrol
agents have requested crime-sceneinvestigation
training in the past as
well.
Who responds to an incident on
base depends on what type of crime
has been committed and by whom.
“We have had numerous incidents
where we relied heavily on the support
of our civilian counterparts.
We’ve had driving while intoxicated
arrests, domestic assaults, etc.,” Major
Gooding said. “The most noteworthy
response was the gate-running incident
last month where Val Verde
County Sheriff’s deputies responded
and arrested the two suspects who ran
the gate.
“Additionally, several months ago,
we conducted an operation with the
Department of Homeland Security’s
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Division to screen contractor employees
who might be present or
working in the United States illegally.”
Lt. Larry Pope, a criminal investigator
with the Val Verde County
Sheriff’s Office, said the department
that responds to a situation is handled
completely on a case-by-case basis.
For example, the sheriff’s office has
the only breathalyzer in the county, so
DUI cases are typically referred to
them. If there is an incident on base,
usually the sheriff’s office will respond
to the call, and security forces officers
will serve as witnessing officials,
he said.
Val Verde County Sheriff
News
Base, local law enforcement agencies team up to fight crime
Story and photo by
Senior Airman Austin M. May
Staff writer
Law enforcement officials from the Air Force Office of Special
Inestigations, 47th Security Forces Squadron, Val Verde County
Sheriff’s Office, Department of Public Safety, U.S. Border Patrol
and Immigration and Customs Enforcement gather on Laughlin to
search various locations for illegal drugs April 28.
D’Wayne Jernigan said one of the reasons
his office might be asked to help
is because military security forces personnel
are law enforcement authorities,
but they are more specially trained
in base and personnel security matters,
such as finding and removing
threats to the mission, and do not have
as much experience in criminal-investigation
matters.
“The base typically has very low
crime rates,” Sheriff Jernigan said.
“And when there is a crime committed,
it’s typically a white-collar, nonviolent
crime.”
“In the military, there is a screening
process. (The military) can choose
who they want on their installations
at any time, and they tend to have
guidelines that weed out individuals
who might cause trouble,” he said.
The same cannot be said for Del
Rio, or any town for that matter, Sheriff
Jernigan said.
Agent Garcia said one of OSI’s
main goals is to stop illegal drugs from
coming through Laughlin’s gates.
“Our intelligence indicates that
there is some illegal drug use on
Laughlin, and we are doing everything
possible to detect and deter its use,”
he said.
Major Gooding said security of
Laughlin is the 47th SFS’s top
priority, but threats to the base could
come from a number of different
areas.
“Drug use and distribution threatens
our community and the Laughlin
mission and will remain a target of enforcement.
Additionally, people who
illegally enter the installation pose an
unknown risk to our resources and
personnel, so they too will remain part
of our focus,” he said.
Sheriff Jernigan said he has had
very positive experiences when working
with the 47th SFS and OSI agents
at Laughlin.
“I have enjoyed a great professional
relationship working as a team
with security forces and OSI,” he said.
“As a team, we work as well with
them as we do any other law enforcement
agency, and better in some
cases.”
Sheriff Jernigan said when a military
member is involved in a case, the
military law enforcement agencies will
get involved, but sometimes security
forces will help out even without that
tie.
“If they can help, they will,” he
said. “In fact, they’re usually pretty
anxious to come out and assist us.
And it’s not just for the training they
receive. They have a true desire to
help.”