America's bloodiest day
Military tightens security at gates
By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer
Military authorities made no apologies for delays caused by dramatically increased security yesterday and said protecting their people and installations is paramount.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
People were required to stop and show identification, rather than simply being waved on if their car had a base sticker. In many cases, installations limited access to one gate.
A security dog checks vehicles at the entrance gate to Hickam Air Force Base. Military bases across the country are on their highest alert after terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center in New York and heavily damaged the Pentagon in Arlington, Va.
Many motorists reported being stuck in traffic for up to four hours.
Maj. Stephen Clutter, a spokesman for the 15th Air Base Wing at Hickam, said gates would have more security personnel this morning to speed up traffic and that employee shifts would be staggered to spread out the rush hour crush.
"The security forces at the gate have to make sure the person coming through has an ID," he said. "They have to maintain positive control. They have to look at the ID card and match the person in the car with the ID and in some cases, search the trunks of cars."
Lt. Cmdr. Jane Campbell, a spokeswoman for Navy Region, Hawai'i, said: "We continue to ask for everyone's patience and understanding during this time of national crisis."
Commuters arriving at the only gate open at Pearl Harbor yesterday, the Nimitz Gate, waited for hours as traffic came to a halt.
At one point, the line of commuters stretched two miles, slowed by frequent car searches.
The wait prompted Pearl Harbor officials to open a second gate for afternoon workers. Today, the Nimitz, Halawa and Makalapa gates will be open.
Staff writers Curtis Lum and Scott Ishikawa contributed to this report.
