Joint patrol provides Airmen with valuable knowledge

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Andrea Thacker
  • AFCENT News Team -- Combined Air and Space Operations Center
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq (AFPN) --  It's been more than 30 years since the Vietnam War ended and since the Air Force has been solely responsible for a base's defense in a war zone, but that's all about to change at Joint Base Balad by the end of September.

The Air Force is taking responsibility for base defense from the Army, and to make sure the Airmen are ready for that they performed a joint patrol Sept. 11 with their Army comrades. Operation Lewis and Clark employed more than 200 Soldiers and Airmen outside the wire to perform four dismounted patrols of the near 36-mile perimeter here.

"The purpose of the operation was to clear the zones outside Joint Base Balad and give the Air Force the opportunity to see the ground they'll be operating in," said Army Maj. David McCulley, 5th Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Battalion operations officer.

"Normally, we do mounted patrols [in vehicles] of the outside perimeter, but a dismounted patrol [on foot] gives a different perspective," Major McCulley said. "Since the Air Force is assuming responsibility of base security, this (operation) gave them a better knowledge of the area they will be operating in."

All Airmen on the patrol agreed that the information received during Operation Lewis and Clark was beneficial.

"The Army has practical application in this area," said Staff Sgt. Johnathon Krueger, 332nd Security Forces Squadron sergeant of the guard. "We are receiving very valuable training, and we plan to take everything we can from it."

Aside from obvious security threats to the base, Soldiers pointed out some that the environment itself introduces.

"When we go out there, if there is anything that obstructs the observation towers' vision, we'll cut it down or mark it on a map so there is an increased level of perimeter awareness," said Army Staff Sgt. Johnny Palma, a self-propelled field artillery system mechanic and Operation Lewis and Clark patrol member. "We will update the perimeter maps to provide the Air Force with the most up-to-date, detailed maps possible, so they are not surprised by anything when they take over."

Since Americans began operating from Joint Base Balad in 2003, the Army has been responsible for base security. The 332nd ESFG will soon be the largest security forces unit deployed to defend an air base.

"This is a historic event," Sergeant Krueger said. "The Air Force hasn't been solely responsible for base defense since Vietnam. The security forces mission is security - including the base's exterior. It's our job, and I think it's about time. I'm proud to be a part of it."

Although this isn't the Army major's first exposure to Air Force operations, Major McCulley thinks highly of his Air Force counterparts and has no doubt that the security forces Airmen are more than capable to handle the job.

"I was very impressed with the Airmen," Major McCulley said. "They were very professional and motivated. I couldn't tell a difference between my Soldiers and the Airmen working with us. The overall mission was a huge success."

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