TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – Searching commercial vehicles just got a whole lot easier for members of the 325th Security Forces Squadron here.
The “Installation of the Future” received the Air Force’s first Mobile Vehicle Access Control Inspection System, or VACIS M6500, at the Cleveland gate Dec. 21.
The $2.2 million asset is a welcome addition to search specialists at Tyndall, particularly as construction on the installation begins to ramp up.
“Compared to the traditional search method, the number of vehicles we can analyze now is unparalleled,” said Senior Airman Norman Shoemake, search specialist. “The image from the x-ray will allow us to quickly and efficiently scan for any anomalies, ensure the correct number of passengers are in the vehicle and confirm there is nothing in the cargo that should not be there.”
The VACIS M6500 will allow for a drastic increase in performance, both in number of vehicles searched and time efficiency, Shoemake said.
With the x-ray machine, commercial vehicle searches can be conducted in about two minutes, a process that normally took up to 15 minutes.
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