Air Force officials are investigating an incident in which a Security Forces airman stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona killed a civilian who attempted to enter the base early Friday morning.
The individual, according to a news release from the base, “failed to stop and identify themselves at the base’s main gate” and was allegedly “driving erratically” around 2:30 a.m. local time on Aug. 1. The individual crashed into a vehicle barrier and attempted to back up.
An airman from the base’s Security Forces Squadron “shot and fatally injured” the civilian after several of the troops used their guns to stop the individual.
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“We certainly regret the loss of life that occurred early this morning,” Col. Jose Cabrera, the 355th Wing commander, said in the Friday news release. “Our defenders have a very difficult job and acted in accordance with their training and policy to ensure the security of the installation and safety of our airmen.”
The incident at Davis-Monthan comes as the military is testing out new security measures at its bases, and it has even temporarily changed some policies in response to public attacks earlier this year.
Retired Air Force Col. John Probst, a former Security Forces officer and the executive director of the nonprofit Air Force Security Forces Association, told Military.com in an interview Monday that situations such as the incident at Davis-Monthan are rare but always a possibility.
“I wouldn’t say I think these situations are common,” Probst said. “I think that they could happen at any installation, almost at any time.”
Probst added that airmen should train for them “as best as they can” but noted that it is a high-pressure situation.
“They are trained on trying to recognize a threat and also the overall impact of that threat,” Probst added. “All that happens in a very short period of time.”
At the beginning of this year, U.S. Northern Command paused its Trusted Traveler program — an initiative that makes it easier to bring visitors on base — in response to public attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas on New Year’s Day. As a result, there were 100% identification checks, and service members posted photos on social media of long lines to enter installations.
A week later, Northern Command resumed its Trusted Traveler program, Military.com reported.
Other additional base security changes are also being tested. In May, the Marine Corps started partnering with federal immigration authorities under a pilot program aimed at stopping foreign nationals from unlawfully entering military bases.
In June, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a Russian woman at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in what was likely the first arrest under that pilot program.
The civilian killed in Friday’s incident at the Davis-Monthan gate had not been publicly identified on Monday. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations Detachment 21 is investigating the circumstances of the death.
Davis-Monthan is home to 11,000 airmen as well as the 355th Wing, which is responsible for training pilots to fly the A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft. It’s also home to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, which oversees a facility dubbed “the boneyard” where retired military aircraft are sent.
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