Air Force failing to screen guards

Two years ago, Air Force bases — including the home base of the presidential jet Air Force One — started using civilian security guards at entry stations. But Pentagon inspectors estimate that nearly half of them did not go through required background checks.

Also, about one of every four had not completed required training before starting work; about one of every six were not weapons qualified; and about one of every three had not met requirements to be certified or licensed by states for armed security work.

That is according to an Air Force Audit Agency report obtained by the Deseret Morning News through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The report adds, "Inadequately trained and licensed contract security guards . . . jeopardize installation security" and "only qualified and high regarded personnel should be employed."

Ironically, the Air Force says it chose to start using civilian guards to expand resources to allow implementing beefed-up, more-strict entry control procedures created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Utah's Hill Air Force Base was not included in the audit. While Hill is among 37 bases that started using civilian security guards since 2004, it was not among the 13 bases chosen at random for review by inspectors.

Some bases where problems were found include such important installations as Andrews, where Air Force One is stationed; Vandenberg, which manages military space and missile testing; and Wright-Patterson, which calls itself the "largest, most diverse and organizationally complex base in the Air Force."

After inspectors looked at records for 558 guards at the 13 bases audited, they concluded, "Contract security guards were not always property trained and licensed."

For example, 253 of 558 — or 45 percent — of the civilian guards did not have required pre-employment checks "of conviction records, employment history, driving record and credit checks" by their employers.

Besides those checks by contractor employers, the Air Force itself was supposed to conduct two additional types of background checks on new guards.

But inspectors said 160 of 558 guards reviewed — or 29 percent — did not have a required check by the Air Force with the National Crime Information Center before training. And 87 of them (17 percent) lacked "National Agency Checks" that do such things as run fingerprints through FBI databases and verify citizenship.

Inspectors blamed the lack of background checks on "inadequate guidance specifying who was responsible" for doing them, and verifying that they were actually completed.