Sikh Run Security Company Contracted to Ellsworth Air Force Base

January 22, 2006

Source: Rapid City Journal

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2006/01/22/news/local/news01.txt

On January 22, 2006 the Rapid City Journal ran a feature article by Bill Harlan, a column writer for the Rapid City Journal, on military outsourcing. "Military security forces at Ellsworth have long been stretched thin. In fact, one of the major post-9/11 call-ups of the South Dakota Army National Guard was to provide security at the air base... Air Force security personnel continue to be in high demand overseas, but guarding bases was a strain on Guard and Reserve units. So now the job of guarding Ellsworth has been outsourced. The company with the contract has a unique and surprising history. Akal Security, based in Espanola, N.M., is one of the world’s fastest-growing companies, according to the company’s Web site, listed at the end of this column. Akal (ah-CALL) has more than 13,000 employees worldwide and bills nearly $1 billion a year... The company... secures [federal courthouses], airports, utilities, railroads, cruise ships and other private clients. Akal’s government clients also include 10 Army bases and 18 Air Force bases, including Ellsworth. Akal is unique and surprising because it’s the only major security company in the United States owned by a nonprofit religious foundation: the Sikh Dharma of New Mexico... Ellsworth officials say Akal security guards will allow Air Force security personnel to spend more time on advanced training. The move also will free up Air Force police for more deployments overseas."