Marine Corps deploys upgraded biometric scanner

A new biometric scanner deployed by the Marine Corps Systems Command improves warfighters' abilities to collect and store sensitive recognition information.

So far, the Biometric Enrollment Screening Device has been used by Marines to enroll about 19,000 persons of interest over the past year, which has resulted in more than 300 additions to a watch list.

"The BESD provides Marines the ability to identify friendly or neutral individuals' true identities while denying the enemy anonymity," said Ilich Bello, FPS senior program analyst. "It supports the biometric enterprise requirement to capture forensic-quality rolled fingerprints, and meets Department of Defense and FBI standards."

The portable device compares and matches fingerprints, iris images and facial photos against an internal database used by Marines on the battlefield. By employing a scanner that goes deeper than the first fingerprint layer, BESD eliminates the problem of poor readings caused by dry skin in harsher, desert climates, reported GCN, a Defense Systems sister publication.