Misawa to implement DBIDS security system

[unhappycamper]

Queena Knowles, 35th Security Forces squadron, registers Master Sgt. Victor Vicuna's identification card for the Defense Biometric Identification System (DBIDS) last month at Misawa Air Base, Japan.


Misawa to implement DBIDS security system
By Vince Little, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Saturday, February 7, 2009

Misawa Air Base in northern Japan is about to join other U.S. military installations in the Pacific that have adopted the Defense Biometric Identification System, or DBIDS.

The computer-based security and identification system keeps a database of biometric information such as a person’s height and weight, eye color and fingerprints along with a color photograph. It’s tracked using the bar code on each ID and helps gate guards ensure the individual presenting the card is its legitimate owner.

All status-of-forces agreement personnel and their dependents at Misawa must register before April 1, according to Queena Knowles, a 35th Security Forces Squadron security technician. She said Misawa will begin scanning ID cards at the gates by late spring or early summer.

"With identity theft and the global war on terror, verifying identity credentials is critical, especially when talking about gaining access to a military installation," Knowles said.

Cranking up the system at Misawa will cost about $260,000, she said.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=60526