What do you think of scanners being used to check IDs at the front gate vs actual visual verification.

It sure is convenient, although it caused significant traffic issues during the transition. I don't think it's really any less secure. A visual check just checks that you have what appears to be a valid ID that resembles you. A scan confirms the validity of the ID, but may not confirm that it belongs to the one holding it.

Another "show of security" rather than real security.

We just don't seem to get it!

This is not a new issue. When I served aboard SSBNs, in the mid-1970s, I was able to compare security at Sub Base New London with that at HM Naval Base Clyde (Faslane), home of the British submarine fleet.

Then, as now, our base security was a joke. Marines or civilian rent-a-cops with unloaded pistols. The Brits took theirs seriously - MOD police backed up by a reaction force of Royal Marines.

We want to do it "on the cheap" and then wonder why we have problems.

I don't know about other bases, but when I come on to JBLM during morning rush hour, the Gate guards just have the drivers hold up their ID's for a quick visual as they are swiftly waved on through. It would not take much for someone to use a fake ID to get onto the base during morning rush.