Kadena disciplinary program enforces civilian standards

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Hailey Staker
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  While commanders have the Uniform Code of Military Justice to punish service member's misconduct, Status of Forces Agreement status civilian personnel are held accountable for their actions under a separate program.

The Kadena Disciplinary Action Program, or KDAP, is a tool the base commander uses to deal with all acts of civilian misconduct by those under the SOFA with Japan. It assists in maintaining good order and discipline within the base community and protects the well-being of all who work and reside on base.

"For SOFA status folks who are within the jurisdiction here at Kadena, KDAP becomes that mechanism to sanction, or punish those using administrative procedures and hearings and is an action that is delegated from the wing commander to us," said Lt. Col. Andrew Shobe, 18th Mission Support Group deputy commander and KDAP hearing officer.

There are two goals to KDAP: to reprimand civilians for misconduct, and to inform the community that there are consequences to their actions.

Shobe explained how, when a driver is charged with driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, they made the base populous unsafe while driving their vehicle and need to be reprimanded for their actions. He also explained how if someone is punished for their actions, it has the effect of deterring any wrongdoing out of others.

He said that SOFA personnel need to know they are not exempt from punishment just because they are not a military member.

So what's the process? The first response is security forces, who are responsible for taking down the information, such as the sponsor's name and contact information, and creating the incident report.

"If (the person) falls under our program, non-military SOFA personnel, then security forces will be releasing the incident report to us and I'll schedule the hearing," said Mai Taira, KDAP director. "I'll be in touch with the first sergeant and then we'll have them come in. When you are called in to the hearing, the subject (him or herself), the sponsor, and the unit rep are required to be here."

The hearing officer will go over the evidence with the defendant and their sponsor and will listen to any statement the accused would like to make on their behalf. Upon conclusion of the hearing, the officer will determine what actions, if any, should be taken.

"The hearing will look a lot like a legal hearing and we're just going to hear them out," Shobe said. "We ask questions just to make sure that, not only did we get the full spectrum surrounding that incident, but we've also got what may have triggered or resulted in (the misconduct)."

Domestic violence, assault, shoplifting, DUI and underage drinking and spice use are some of the cases involved in KDAP hearings, with consequences ranging from community service and loss of privileges to loss of access to the base, otherwise known as barment.

Taira added people should understand that shopping on base and driving in a foreign country are privileges given by the installation commander, and can be taken away at any time.

"Some people think that it is their right to do this, but it is actually a privilege so at any time those can be taken away if they are violated," Taira said. "When the kids are requesting their driver's license, it's a driving privilege that we are given but we can just suspend it. If you are caught shoplifting, we will suspend (their shopping privileges) and if you fight that we're taking your rights away, no it is not your right, it was a privilege that was given to you and you violated it. You have to be a good ambassador."

Although these cases resulted in some form of punishment, repeat offenders, severe crime or a case in which their conduct brought danger to the base or host nation populous, barment from an installation would be recommended by the hearing officer.

"Barment itself is from all USFJ installations and the standard right now is no less than 10 years," Shobe said.

Taira explained a situation in which four middle school students were barred from the island due to their misconduct which caused an international incident in 2013.

"Middle school students put bowling pins on the expressway and those four students are already barred off island," Taira said. "It happened in the middle of the night, they were sneaking out and their parents had no idea their kids were not at home. They lived on base and sneaked out so there was a curfew violation and a couple nights they were throwing rocks on the express way. They found an abandoned bowling alley and bowling pins and thought it would be fun, so they took the pins."

Taira explained how their misconduct was a danger to themselves and how a severe first offense can become a case involving barment.

"I asked them, 'What if that driver tried to sway around and got into a car accident and he died? What do you think?'" Taira said. "They're not thinking that far, they're just thinking the spur of the moment and the fun. That's something that we're trying to teach them, to think ahead."

Not only does barment burden those who commit the crime, it also impacts the families. If allowed to remain on island, the family, if living on base at the time of barment, must then move off base at their own expense. Personnel who are mandated to live off base can only reenter the installation for medical appointments or emergencies and must be escorted by security forces personnel.

Taira said most families are subject to early return of dependents while the military member finishes his or her tour requirement.

"In order to better serve our purpose, it's important for the KDAP office to inform the base populous about the sanctions we administer," Shobe said. "I don't think the people know that there are these events that are occurring in the community that we're trying to help take care of these things and pointing out these trends. It's important to let folks know so maybe they'll feel a little bit safer that something is being done as well as 'oh I didn't know that that was wrong.' I think if we tell the community what's going on, maybe they'll hear about it and it'll make some people take pause."