New Fort Indiantown Gap main access control point opened

The ribbon was cut on Fort Indiantown Gap's main access control point Wednesday morning during a dedication ceremony for the project. The access point went online at 1 p.m.

The main access control point, located on Fisher Avenue, just past its intersection with Biddle Drive, will be Fort Indiantown Gap's only entry point until the East gate is built, which is expected to be finished in late 2025.

Fort Indiantown Gap Garrison Commander Col. Kevin Potts said the East gate will be used primarily for those that work on that side of the installation, as it will not have a visitor center or truck lanes.

Moving forward, service members and employees on the installation will have to present a Department of Defense Common Access Card or state identification badge when entering through the control point.

The access point will open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Visitors to Fort Indiantown Gap will have to check in at the visitors center with a valid photo ID before being allowed entry to the installation. After a background check, visitors will receive a color-coded badge with their picture and name that notes the reason they're on the instillation (visitor, contractor, student, for example). The visitor pass does not cost anything.

Director of the Department of Public Works Lt. Col. Adam Love likened the process to going to the DMV to get a driver's license and said visitors should expect the process to take 10 to 15 minutes.

The visitors center is open during regular business hours.

Contractors coming onto the installation will also have to be cleared to come to Fort Indiantown Gap, will go through the same background check, and can receive a pass that allows them access for however long they plan to be working.

A list of 10 disqualifying factors are posted inside the visiting center.

Eventually, visitors will be able to go online to register for a pass.

The visitors center is currently not up and running, as they're waiting for computer systems to be installed and personnel to be trained on it. It will be opened once employees on the installation receive their badges. It should be operational in about a month.

For the time being, anyone with a valid state or federal identification can get through.

During his speech at the dedication ceremony, Potts stressed that gating the installation is not closing it down to the public, but rather making it more secure.

"I cannot express strongly enough that this effort has never been about closing the Fort Indiantown Gap, but creating a safer facility for all who spend time here,' Potts said. "This new access control point will provide an increased level of security, because the safety and security of the installation and our people is the top priority."

Following Sept. 11, 2001, the Department of Defense mandated tighter security at military installations, including access control points. Construction on access control points at Fort Indiantown Gap have been delayed several times and began in 2021.

Fort Indiantown Gap was the busiest National Guard training center in the 2023 Fiscal Year and supports training for active duty, reserve and National Guard Soldiers and Airmen and service members from other branches. Over 2,000 people work on the instillation and it hosts over 100,000 personnel for training annually.

The main access control point cost roughly $13 million.

Trucks and vans arriving at the installation for deliveries will now go through separate lanes to be searched by guards. Prior to the access point, deliveries coming into Fort Indiantown Gap weren't vetted at all.

Under certain circumstances, such as for graduations or special events like the annual tree-lighting ceremony, held on Dec. 6 at 5 p.m. this year at the Arrowheads Club, the Gap Garrison Commander has the ability to open up access point to better allow visitors to come in without checking in at the visitor center, either by creating a list of who is expected to attend the event beforehand or allowing visitors for an event to present their IDs at the lane as opposed to going through the visitors center.

Colonel Kevin Potts, Gap Garrison Commander, said the effect on traffic flow is a concern.

"We're going to do a traffic study over the next two weeks," Potts said, "to see how many people actually pass through the gate to see if we have to do something different."

The gates will not affect access to Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, Memorial Lake State Park, Marquette Lake, the Keystone Conference Center or Fort Indiantown Gap’s hunting and fishing areas.

On Sunday, Nov. 5, the Indiantown Gap National Cemetery will host its 41st annual Veteran's Day Program beginning at 2 p.m.

The public is welcome to attend this rain-or-shine event, with parking held at MSC Industrial Supply Company at 100 MSC Drive, Jonestown, with shuttle bus transportation to and from the cemetery. There will be limited parking at the cemetery itself.

Daniel Larlham Jr. is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at DLarlham@LDNews.com or on X @djlarlham.

This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: New Fort Indiantown Gap PA main access control point opened