The Security Office at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center has hosted a series of site assistance visits over the last year to evaluate and improve their professional skills.
Most recently, Greg Matthews with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Operational Protection Division conducted a Guard Force assistance visit Jan. 12-13 in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Matthews’ report to USACE included these comments. “Although there is always room for program refinement and further development, ERDC sets the example of a DA Security Guard Program which should be considered as a best-practice and modeled across USACE.”
The visits concluded March 6-10 when Col. Richard J. Boehning and a team of four security professionals from the OPD conducted the Protection Program Review at ERDC. The guard force organization was part of this review.
According to ERDC’s Chief of Security William Roth, the Protection Program Review was a marked success and a fitting conclusion to the site assistance visits. ERDC Security is also looking forward to a USACE-sponsored Antiterrorism Conference/Workshop to be held at ERDC next month.
ERDC Security will also undergo a Department of the Army Inspector General inspection the latter part of 2017. All DOD Laboratory Security Programs are mandated by Congress to undergo an IG inspection every three years. These inspections have enhanced the overall security posture of ERDC and contributed to the professionalism of the ERDC security team.