Airmen keep base safe in austere conditions

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. J. LaVoie
  • 506th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
KIRKUK AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  Not many Airmen here would volunteer to stand, dressed in their body armor, in the summer desert heat for 13 hours a day watching the perimeter. However, that is exactly what security forces Airmen do every day to keep people and assets here safe.

“We secure the base and ensure nobody breaks the perimeter,” said Airman Christopher Gaughan of the 506th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron. “If we don’t do our job properly, insurgents could enter the base and hurt personnel and destroy resources.”

Though their mission is straightforward, it is far from simple. Security forces Airmen must deal with many of the hazards other people here deal with, but their duty day involves 12 hours of wearing full body armor inside towers without air conditioning.

“There are hundreds of hazards, from snakes and other wildlife to the sun and unexploded ordnance,” said Staff Sgt. Anthony Coyle of the 506th ESFS. “You can’t ever let your guard down. You always have to be aware.”

Besides the dangerous environment of temperatures that reach well above 100 degrees, security forces Airmen also have the combat environment to cope with, such as watching for small arms fire and being prepared for an attack. However, there are other combat hazards that one might not expect.

“Occasionally we have kids bringing (unexploded ordnance) to the fence line,” said Staff Sgt. Aaron Medina of the 506th ESFS. “We try to get them to put them down and get a translator here to help.”

During all of this, security forces Airmen are defending the base from terrorists.

“I think a main difficulty that many of our Airmen face is that we are at the front line of defense for the base,” said 1st Lt. Landon Morgan of the 506th ESFS. “On a typical day, we are the eyes on the perimeter, the hands on the gates and the offense conducting off-base patrols. … Even in these austere conditions, our Airmen of the 506th ESFS continue to protect this base 24 hours a day.”