A Japanese security officer at Yokota Air Base, Japan, checks a military identification card using a DBIDS scanner at the base’s main gate. Base residents must be registered in the biometrics system by Wednesday. (Bryce S. Dubee/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Yokota residents who have not been registered into a new base security system by Wednesday might face delays when they hit the gates.
People whose ID cards do not indicate registration in the Defense Biometric Identification System will have to present an additional form of identification to guards, according to David Edenfield, chief of the security forces plans division of 374th Security Forces Squadron.
"Additional forms of ID include, but are not limited to, a passport, birth certificate or driver’s license," he said.
Residents of other bases who visit Yokota also will have to produce another form of ID to enter if they are not in Yokota’s DBIDS.
In addition, Yokota residents and military ID holders must be in DBIDS before they can sign guests onto the base, Edenfield said.
"We have the limited ability to register them in DBIDS and grant them access to the base at the Visitor Control Center," Edenfield said. "This could delay their entry significantly if there are a large number of guests waiting to be signed in to base."
He recommended that if someone is planning to come to Yokota with off-base guests, they might want to consider coming when it is less busy.
"Saturday and Sunday mornings will result in long delays," he said. "Weekdays are the best."
Registration for DBIDS at Yokota is taking place at the Pass and Registration Office in Building 316 from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, with the entire process taking about two to three minutes, Edenfield said.
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. The information is tracked using the bar code on each ID card and helps guards ensure the person presenting the card is its rightful owner.
Japanese national employees will be issued DBIDS cards with their bar-coded information.
The system was used first in 1999 at U.S. installations in South Korea, where full implementation was completed in 2001.
In 2004, Yokosuka Naval Base was the first base in Japan to use the system, which has since spread to other installations including Sasebo Naval Base in late 2007 and now Yokota.
"Unfortunately, our system is not linked to the Navy’s network," Edenfield said. "We are hoping to link our system with other systems in Japan in the future and will only require registration at one location."
For more information on registering at Yokota, call DSN 225-8932.
