Photo By Staff Sgt. Jes Smith | Officer Kevin Vail, with Fort Bliss Directorate of Emergency Services, checks an ID...... read more read more
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FORT BLISS, Texas – Following the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, security here and at many other military installations changed drastically as the military police, who usually guarded the installations, deployed overseas. Eventually, a civilian security force with the Fort Bliss Directorate of Emergency Services replaced them here.
“After 9/11, the threat of a terror attack at home became a real threat all across America,” said Lt. Hector C. Molinar, a Fort Bliss DES officer. “It gives me great pride and a sense of patriotism to guard against anything happening to Fort Bliss or the people who live, work and visit the base every day.”
In addition to heightening the level of protection against possible terror threats, the guards at Fort Bliss are also the first line of defense for unsafe drivers coming onto post.
Cpl. Kip Reid, also a Fort Bliss DES officer, who previously served seven years on active duty with Air Force security forces, said he regularly catches intoxicated drivers coming through the gate while working the graveyard shift.
He said even though the individuals he busts get angry with him, it is worth it because he knows he’s keeping drunk drivers off the roads and the Fort Bliss streets safe.
In addition to drunk drivers, the guards also catch a number of drivers trying to enter post without insurance, registration or additional infractions that include possession of firearms or illegal drugs.
One of the biggest tools the guards use to identify any possible issues is to speak with every person who comes through the gate to hear how they respond while observing their behavior during the interaction.
Reid said he had a driver come through the gate who was acting very down, depressed and conversationally unresponsive, prompting Reid to ask the man if anything was wrong, leading to the driver admitting he was suicidal.
He called the military police and they were able to get the driver the medical help he needed – saving his life.
With the winding down of the wars and the current fiscal issues — leading to civilian government worker furloughs — the people who guard Fort Bliss are transitioning again, with the civilian guards being decreased and backfilled with active-duty soldiers again.
The numbers of Fort Bliss DES guards, who have been securing the base for the better part of the past decade, are decreasing but they can still be found at every entry control point onto Fort Bliss.
Each gate must have at least one DES officer to assist the soldiers, who are manning the gates, to ensure there is zero let down in the level of security and safety that the base has grown to count on, according to Molinar.
“We don’t just have soldiers on Fort Bliss,” said Molinar, who grew up the son of an active duty soldier. “Everyday there are soldiers, family members, civilian workers and people from the El Paso community - they all deserve to be safe and I take a lot of pride in giving that to them. It makes it easy for me to get up and come to work everyday.”
| Date Taken: | 07.24.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 08.01.2013 16:16 |
| Story ID: | 111206 |
| Location: | EL PASO, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 1,062 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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