Be a good sponsor, talk about consequences of

by Col. Don Bacon
435th Air Base Wing commander

I take my responsibilities as the installation commander to provide a safe and secure
community for our patriots, families and schools seriously; I am a firm believer that we are all accountable for our own actions. 

As such, I want to make it very clear that each sponsor is responsible for providing guidance, control and enforcement of the behavior of your family members and
dependents.

I bring this up because the KMC has recently experienced several cases of
criminal activity by school-age dependents. 

Their actions include drug use and distribution, destruction to property, theft
and assaults.

As a parent and sponsor myself, I realize these are not scenarios anyone plans to take place. Yet as a result, sponsors and dependents alike are caught off-guard when they learn the severe consequences of such actions.

As these cases come to light, I act swiftly yet fairly to stress upon these dependents (and their sponsors) that they will be held accountable for these criminal actions.
I hope that by sharing this message I can provide dependents an additional deterrent to misconduct.

A criminal offense places undue burden on sponsors, adds unnecessary stress to home and family life and, in some cases, takes away the privilege to enter military installations and/or attend our tremendous DODDS schools.    
Over the last three months, I held more than a dozen school-age dependents accountable for their indefensible personal choices. 

As a result, I served installation barment, which extends to all military installations throughout Europe, to six of the 12 school-age offenders.
Two high school seniors are now forced to complete high school credits through
distance learning and will not graduate with their peers.

I have also barred a middle school student from the base. Other forms of punishment include up to 150 hours of parentally supervised community service, which involves base clean-up, ASACS counseling and mandatory drug tests.
I will not allow a few law-breakers to negatively impact the overall quality of life that those living in the KMC have come to expect. I urge each sponsor to talk with their dependents about the consequences of misconduct on and off the installation and the high standards we all expect from of our KMC families.

I thank you for the many sacrifices you willingly endure as members of our military.
Have no doubt, I will support your efforts by providing a safe and secure community, to include our schools, where the next generation of hope and dreams reside.