Airmen provide force protection 'inside the wire'

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Candace Romano
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFNEWS) --  An Airman performing a vehicle search might be a C-17 Globemaster III loadmaster. The Airman providing escort for local nationals could be a medical technician.

But, regardless of their primary Air Force Specialty Code, or AFSC, Airmen such as these provide force protection while assigned to the 332nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron have one mission: to maintain base defense inside the wire with steely-eyed vigilance.

"Force protection provides security for the base, ensuring Air Force assets and personnel are kept safe," said Master Sgt. John Romo, superintendent in charge of force protection under the 332nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron. "We also make sure the foreign nationals and host nationals entrusted to us are under the care of vigilant, alert Airmen."

More than 120 force protection Airmen carry this responsibility with them every day as they perform vehicle and personnel searches, provide escort, and issue identification for third-country and local nationals working.

Force protection Airmen undergo a three-day training course after arriving here to certify them as escorts for the many foreign and host nationals who work on Balad.

"The responsibility these Airmen have is immense," said Staff Sgt. Victoria Miller with force protection, a dental laboratory journeyman deployed from Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, on her second deployment. "We search every vehicle for weapons and unauthorized items and conduct personnel sweeps to make sure they're safe to go out and do their work on base."

Threats "inside the wire" can pose as much a threat as those outside, according to force protection Airmen, who never let their guard down and keep constant vigilance.

"It's a challenge to maintain the first line of defense inside the base," said Airman 1st Class Lance Benedietto with force protection, a hydraulic systems specialist deployed from the 31st Maintenance Squadron at Aviano Air Base, Italy. "Back home, I maintain jets and am responsible for the pilots' lives. Here, it's not just the pilots' lives; it's everyone on base we're providing defense for."

Force protection Airmen provide the means for vital projects like filling sandbags and working construction to be completed without tying up other critical military manpower. It also provides an opportunity for local and foreign nationals to seek job opportunities on base.

"Interacting with them on a daily basis has made me realize they have faces and families ... talking to most of them, I've found they all love America, even though they only know three places: New York, Texas and California," said Senior Airman Levi Scott, with force protection, a C-17 loadmaster deployed from McGuire AFB, N.J., on his first deployment. "They're all glad to have their jobs and send money back home. They're all trying to make a living, just like everyone else."

Working in close proximity to local and foreign nationals has changed some Airmen's views, many who initially had reservations about interacting with local nationals.

"I feel a bit more comfortable after interacting with them every day," said Airman Benedietto. "I'm more accepting of the cultural differences ... they're definitely not the stereotypes you see on TV."

The job puts Airmen at the forefront of base defense inside the wire, a daunting but important task.

"I have the utmost faith in my fellow Airmen and NCOs, who do a difficult job every day. Many of them are on their first deployment, and are coming from diverse career fields - but they're all giving 100 percent," said Sergeant Romo, a reservist with the 433rd Airlift Wing's 433rd Aeromedical Squadron at Lackland AFB, Texas. "We're guarding and defending the most important Air Force asset, our people."

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