The base I live on, and others I work at across the region have both Biometric ID cards and shotguns on the gate. I would say 1 in 4 times I go through the gate the ‘chip and fingerprint’ is checked and the barcode thing on the back is scanned every time.
The guards have a pistol strapped to their thigh and shotgun slung across their back. There are at least 3 guards on every gate, regular foot and vehicle patrols and then more guards around the flight line.
We are at the equivalent of Bikini Black Special.
Obviously this security is great, but how much does it cost? Would we have the personnel to do it? There is already a thread about guys in Iraq guarding when not on shift, where would we find the manpower? Even if we did guard the UK bases in this manner, would the ROE give us the opportunity to use any of our gear??
All this said, some security is definitely better than none!