FORT BELVOIR, VA –
The McNamara Headquarters Complex Visitors Control Center will be open to the public Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Individuals without appropriate credentials must use the VCC to access the complex.
According to Larry McCauley, chief of Security and Emergency Services for DLA Installation Management, active-duty military and individuals with a current Defense Department or government Common Access Card, or a military retiree/dependent ID card, are not required to stop at the VCC and may use any gate to enter the complex. Members of the public, family members, commercial vendors and contractors are considered visitors or guests and must use the VCC to enter the HQC.
The VCC is located at the HQC gate closest to the Fort Belvoir gate on Kingman Road. The center’s parking lot is on the immediate right.
Department of Defense security regulations require that HQC visitors be cleared before accessing the facility. Although optional, McCauley recommends visitors pre-register online in DBIDS, the Defense Biometric Identification System, avoid long wait times at the VCC. Pre-registering in DBIDS also enables visitors’ sponsors to submit requests to HQC Security for required background checks without having to handle visitors’ personally identifiable information.
Steps for pre-registering are:
Step 1: The sponsor provides the visitor with a link to the DBIDS pre-enrollment website, their work email, and phone number.
Step 2: The visitor goes online no more than 30 days before their scheduled visit and enters their personal information. At the end of the process, the visitor receives a visit confirmation page with a quick response QR code and six-digit number.
Step 3: The visitor sends a copy of the confirmation page, QR code and six-digit number to their sponsor.
Step 4: The sponsor sends a digitally signed email to HQVisitorAccess.HQDLA@dla.mil with a copy of the visit confirmation and date of the visit. Sponsors should submit their requests five business days before the visit when possible. Unless the sponsor is notified otherwise, visitor access is approved.
Step 5: At the time of the visit, the visitor takes their state-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or Virginia Real ID driver’s license, and a printout of the visit confirmation from DBIDS to the HQC VCC (directions above). The visitor is verified in DBIDS and issued a visitor’s pass allowing them to drive through the HQC gate and park.
Step 6: Visitors enter the facility through Pod 4 (facing the building flagpole) or Pod 10 (near the covered parking garage) entrances and undergo security screening. Defense Threat Reduction Agency visitors undergo additional processing and badging upon entering the Pod 10 lobby area. Visitors requiring an escort remain in the lobby until their sponsor arrives.
HQC employees without a CAC or military ID must go to the VCC for building access. Employees who lose their CAC must also stop at the VCC for a pass to go to the HQC Security Office to report the lost or stolen card and get a new card at the HQC Pass & ID Office.
Although walk-up visitors will be accepted at the HQC VCC, they’ll wait longer while security checks are completed, McCauley added.
Organizers of major events like ceremonies and conferences should contact HQC Security to coordinate processing for attendees.
For more information, contact the HQC Visitor Access Office at: