“There are a lot of similarities between city and military police work,” Ostrom said. “In Orlando, I’m a patrol officer, so I’m the one out there taking the stolen vehicle or shoplifting report. When I put on my Air Force uniform and come over to Eglin Air Force Base to work for the 96th Security Forces Squadron, I sit as the equivalent of the chief of police, so it’s a different aspect of a very similar career.”
Maj. Ostrom is a 10-year Orlando police department veteran. At Eglin, which is near Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., he monitors property and personnel security in an area covering 724 square miles.
“Having a safe, crime-free environment is a key quality of life issue for military personnel,” Ostrom said. “Quality of life also leads to retention of the younger airmen and officers who, depending on their career field, might make substantially more dollars in a career outside of the Air Force.”
Giving airmen peace of mind is a goal of Air Force security officers, Ostrom said.
“We try to instill in the mind of the troop that’s deploying that their families will be safe while they are gone; the whole military family jells together to help the family of the deployed person.”
Working With the Local Civilian Community
“Knowing that the military family is well taken care of, and that they are living in a safe place with low crime levels, means that service members can focus on their mission overseas,” said Joyce Wessel Raezer, director of government relations at the National Military Family Association in Alexandria, Va. The NMFA is a nonprofit membership organization that testifies before Congress and policy-makers on the importance of the military community.
Safety and security extends off the military post where, the Association of the U.S. Army estimates, up to two-thirds of military families live. Close cooperation between military and civilian police agencies is the rule, based on an informal Expansion Management survey.
“We have a very close working relationship with the sheriff’s departments in the three counties where we have army community housing; we also work closely with the New York state police, and police in the local villages around the 14 off-base housing sites,” said Greg Ferguson, director of emergency services at the Army’s Fort Drum facility near Watertown, N.Y.
Today, about 2,000 families live within Fort Drum, and 2,200 families live off the base in military housing set in civilian communities.
Besides a formal memorandum of agreement between civilian and military law enforcement agencies around Fort Drum, there’s also an informal code of assistance, said Ferguson, a 20-year veteran of Fort Drum.
“I’ve come to know all of the police chiefs, sheriffs, and senior New York state troopers in this area, and they are fully aware of the responsibilities that they have and, especially after 9-11, how we need to interact together to insure that we track criminal activity on-post and off-post.”
In addition to working closely with U.S. law enforcement, Fort Drum security teams cooperate across the border (just 30 miles away) with the Canadian Royal Mounted Police, municipal police departments in Canada, and Canadian Customs officials.
“I think most of us in law enforcement on military installations understand the value of local law enforcement agencies, and we realize the further you identify the problem away from Ft. Drum, the better your defense will be against the problem,” Ferguson said.
Since it’s within Las Vegas’ city limits (population 1.7 million), Nellis Air Force Base faces the same crime trends that any other large city would have, said Capt. Kirk Hughes, operations officer at Nellis’ security forces squadron. Crime rates, however, are lower in northeast Las Vegas where Nellis is located, partially because of the fact that a lot of military personnel live in apartments around the base perimeter.
Just like military security personnel at rural bases, Nellis’ staff maintains close, cordial relationships with nearby civilian police agencies.
“Once a month, our group commander meets with all the major local, state and federal agency heads, including Clark County Sheriff Bill Young, to discuss common needs and concerns,” said Capt. Hughes. “If there’s an incident that we have that requires support from the Las Vegas metro police, we contact them, and they come out and provide support to us.”
The American Legion Lends a Helping Hand
Groups like the American Legion (2.7 million members) and its National Law and Order Committee are working to insure crime-free environments on- and off-post. Some law-and-order measures that the Legion endorses include:
* More frequent charging of juveniles where warranted.
* More jail time for certain first-time offenders.
* Trying juveniles as adults where warranted.
* Holding parents responsible for fines imposed on youthful offenders.
* Mandatory sentences for gang-related crimes and for violent crimes committed with firearms.
One way the Legion shows its support for police, said Mike Duggan, the Legion’s deputy director for national security, is through its National Law Enforcement Officer of the Year award.
With more than 300 major installations worldwide, the U.S. military has a tough task insuring the safety of its troops and their families. And the evidence shows a lot of success.
“In some ways, it’s an ‘Andy of Mayberry’ kind” of environment here at Fort Drum,” Ferguson pointed out. “On our surveys, the No. 1 comment provided by the troops is that Fort Drum is the most safe and secure environment that they know of in which to raise their families. We get that same feedback when we talk with the soldiers at the PX.”
Michael Keating is the senior research editor for Expansion Management. He can be reached at mkeating@penton.com.
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