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A new program now offers KMC civilians and dependents involved in misconduct an opportunity to regain base privileges sooner.
The Base Beautification Detail was created to give individuals a chance to reduce their punishment by participating in community service, said Lt. Col. Cynthia Richards, 435th Mission Support Group deputy commander and Civilian and Family Member Misconduct officer.
“This program serves to not only benefit the individual, but also the base,” said Col. Don “Bits” Bacon, 435th Air Base Wing commander. “Though our overall goal is to not have anyone involved in bad behavior, we hope this will help raise awareness for misconduct that occurs within our non-military community, which is something we want to decrease.”
While these incidents are published in the blotter and in the paper every week, the punishment that results is not always as visible.
“The most common misconduct issues are shoplifting, assaults or fights, damage to government property, alcohol and controlled substance abuse,” Colonel Richards said.
But the level of punishment is dependent on a number of variables, including the individual’s age, prior record, seriousness and deliberateness of misconduct, the presence or absence of parental guidance and discipline, defiance of authority, and adverse impact on the military community. The sanctions can vary from anything to a letter of warning or restricted travel, all the way to barment from all U.S. military installations in Europe.
“Barment has a tremendous impact on the offender and the entire family,” Colonel Richards said. “Not only will a barred civilian or family member lose installation access, barment can also lead to the early return of dependents, barment from Department of Defense Dependents Schools or the family having to move off base if they live in base housing.”
A family member who is entitled to medical privileges will still be able to enter medical facilities, but will have to be signed in at the visitor control center and escorted.
Though community service does not offer barred individuals an opportunity to regain base privileges, it does serve as a good avenue for those who have received lesser restrictions.
All community service is scheduled for Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Individuals interested in participating in the program need to contact Heidi Porter, Installation Community Discipline specialist, who will work with the Facility Excellence Team to ensure volunteers have appropriate tasks to accomplish that also fall in line with base needs.
“Our participants have been raking leaves in areas where our grounds maintenance crew could not maintain in time due to the work load they currently have,” said Staff Sgt. Ryan Ancheta, 735th Civil Engineering Squadron Facility Excellence NCOIC, who recently helped with the program. “Other things participants may expect when performing this detail are picking up trash and small branches, pulling weeds and painting.”
While some may see the program as just manual labor, the CE professionals ensure the tasks are suitable for each individual, which is why Ms. Porter asks to be contacted ahead of time so the team can plan for each individual appropriately. And for some, that means including the sponsor or parent. According to the program, sponsors are required to directly supervise family members 18 years old or younger.
“Parents and their kids will have a chance to spend some meaningful time together without the distractions of TV and cell phones,” Ms. Porter said. “Juvenile misconduct is sometimes a cry for attention, and with parents and kids being out together working on a mutual project, they should realize they are connected and responsible for each other.”
Beyond that, it is a chance for the individual to feel more attuned to the base community.
“In most cases, the individual’s bad behavior has negatively impacted other individuals or, when it comes to shoplifting or vandalism, the community. So the Base Beautification Detail reinforces his or her sense of responsibility and account-
ability to our community,” Colonel Bacon said.
“By serving in the detail, we hope we can take a bad situation and bring some positive consequences … the base will look better and hopefully individuals will learn a positive lesson,” he added.
