New Visitor Access Requirements at Ft Myer?

[jamilkb]

@Steve O 130177 wrote:

Post dentist I decided to try the Ft. Myer cut-through from S. Arlington to Rosslyn. Ran into a friend who bikes through frequently and guided me into the left line at the 2nd St. entrance (I wouldn’t have known). They looked at our IDs and let us through. I have a Federal one, but he just has a driver’s license. No hassles.

Good to hear! I’d given up and I’ve been taking Columbia Pike to Pentagon trail….it’s the most horrible route into the city BTW…. I may try Ft. Myer again next week I guess. I won’t risk it during the rain this week though, nothing worse than having to turn back and re-route in the rain.

[DismalScientist]

The last time I went through Southgate the guard expressed a deep desire to scan something and suggested I get a pass in additition to my Federal ID. I don’t know whether this portends something bad.

[cvcalhoun]

I am finding it amusing that it is apparently easier to go through a military installation than to go through the National Institutes of Health. I used to cut through NIH all the time, since it was much less hilly than the alternative routes. Now, they only allow bikes in through one entrance, which means that there is no way to go through it. Interestingly, they allow visitors in cars to go through other entrances. Do they seriously believe it is easier to bring in a bomb on a bicycle than on a car?

[Alcova cyclist]

@DismalScientist 130229 wrote:

The last time I went through Southgate the guard expressed a deep desire to scan something and suggested I get a pass in addition to my Federal ID. I don’t know whether this portends something bad.

I had the same thing happen at Wright Gate (the one by Iwo Jima Memorial/Rosslyn) last night. The guard said that the policy had changed a few weeks ago but there was a grace period. He said starting very soon that if there isn’t a bar code on the back they can scan, you won’t be allowed to enter through that gate. But then when I pointed out that my Federal ID is HSPD-12 compliant he seemed a little less sure, and also added “I am not 100% sure this will apply to bicycles” — so who knows? Signs not looking good though.

[Mikey]

One thing to consider is FP condition (Force Protection). It is usually posted on a placard near the guard house. In FP Bravo you can expect more scrutiny of badges and reason for entry. Charlie and you won’t get in unless you have a true reason to be there. (You won’t see Delta unless the base is in total lockdown and then that would be a 9/11 like scenario). If memory serves me I think we were in either Alpha or Bravo until the Paris attacks. I think we may still be in Bravo, but the guards are probably more careful about enforcing it.

[Alcova cyclist]

As if the back-and-forth might never end…

Coming through Wright gate (the one on Marshall near the Marine Corps Memorial) last Friday night (Feb 5th 2016), the gate guard informed me that “soon” they will start restricting non-DOD federal ID holders to only be able to enter at the Main 2nd Street Gate (i.e. not the Wright Gate or the one over by the Air Force Memorial) — actually he said that this policy had already changed, they’re just not enforcing it yet.

He was really nice about it, but did not have answers for basic questions like “for bikes too or just motor vehicles?” and “when will enforcement actually start?” He made it pretty obvious that the gate guards are nearly as in the dark as the rest of us.

Take this with a grain of salt, since I got told something like this a month or so ago and have seen no changes actually put in place. But I guess for non-DOD feds, just be prepared with a “Plan B” for when they randomly decide to enforce. (And don’t let Plan B include the route 50 trail if it’s within a month or so of a snowstorm, as Arlington County can’t seem to be bothered to clear it even literally weeks later — I discovered that last week too when a really late night at work meant the Wright Gate had closed for the night and the Route 50 trail was still buried under snow and ice almost two full weeks post-storm.)

[KLizotte]

Anybody tried to cut through the Fort in the last month using a non-DoD federal ID yet?

[DismalScientist]

I did about a month ago. Rather, I came to the gate and was told I could enter “one last time,” but I just turned around and took the Pike instead.

[Alcova cyclist]

@KLizotte 137880 wrote:

Anybody tried to cut through the Fort in the last month using a non-DoD federal ID yet?

It’s my normal commute route, so I’ve been going through 10x / week with a non-DOD federal ID all winter long. They’ve never turned me away, though every month or so I get told at Wright Gate (the one by Iwo Jima) that “soon” they’ll restrict non-DOD badges there and only allow them in at Hatfield (the main gate on 2nd St).

[KLizotte]

I went through today without any problems with my non-DoD federal ID. Henderson to the main gate. Was even told to have a great day! Yay!

[dasgeh]

I went through a week or two ago – Main Gate to ANC Gate – without problem. Also non-DoD federal ID.

[acorn]

@dasgeh 137924 wrote:

I went through a week or two ago – Main Gate to ANC Gate – without problem. Also non-DoD federal ID.

I’ve been riding through as well with my non-DOD fed ID, on a regular basis. At Hatfield Gate there is now a sign directing bikers to ride through the search lane (but you just have to show your ID to the officers there.)
I haven’t seen anyone turned back lately, but maybe non feds just aren’t attempting to enter anymore.

[acorn]

Update: this evening I attempted to enter through Wright Gate, as usual, and was turned away even though I have a federal ID/CAC card. HSPD-12 compliant. The guard attempted to scan it, and it didn’t work. He said that his new instructions, which had just been issued this morning, were that feds with IDs that couldn’t be scanned by his device could only go through Hatfield Gate.

Can someone from the county inquire about this?

[KLizotte]

@acorn 139223 wrote:

Update: this evening I attempted to enter through Wright Gate, as usual, and was turned away even though I have a federal ID/CAC card. HSPD-12 compliant. The guard attempted to scan it, and it didn’t work. He said that his new instructions, which had just been issued this morning, were that feds with IDs that couldn’t be scanned by his device could only go through Hatfield Gate.

Can someone from the county inquire about this?

Wow, I entered via Gate 1 on S. Orme Street this past weekend with my non-DOD fed ID and the guard didn’t even try to scan it. No mention at all of an impending change of security. I really hope this new requirement does not come to pass.

[Steve O]

Someone I was talking with at BTWD said that she had obtained an annual pass of some kind. She said it took a bit of perseverance. I wish I could remember who it was.

[Author]

Posts