Airmen track terrorists off base

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Colleen Wronek
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  To keep Balad Air Base, Iraq safe and secure, the Airmen of Task Force 1041 venture off base daily to take the fight to the enemy.

“This is a war against insurgents, and the battlefield is asymmetric,” said Lt. Col. Chris Bargery, task force commander. “The vast majority of attacks against air bases are stand-offs. We can’t stay inside the fence and hope the bad guys go away. Hope isn’t effective in preventing attacks, so we go out and take action.”

The unit’s mission is to make sure the base stays secure by conducting offensive ground combat operations.

“We’ve been effective,” said Colonel Bargery, who is deployed from the Pentagon. “The number of attacks is down, and I believe our work here will have a lasting impact.”

The unit leaves the base and conducts combat security patrols in local villages to track down terrorists.

“The local people are afraid. The terrorists operate (among) them, and we have to win the confidence of the local people,” Colonel Bargery said. “If you demonstrate you are a fair and effective alternative to the terrorists, you can sometimes earn the people’s support and build lasting relationships.”

“We go out there and get rid of the threat so the military can continue its mission unhindered,” said Capt. Warren Cohn, task force tactical commander deployed from Moody Air Force Base, Ga. “Our goal is to stop indirect fire attacks. That’s what were trained and equipped to do.”

The Airmen try to make the community feel safer by hunting down the enemy.

“We go out and try to draw the enemy out,” said Staff Sgt. Kyle Luker, a fire team leader also deployed from Moody. “You really never know who you’re dealing with.”

Sergeant Luker has been on more than 60 missions here. He said one benefit is helping the Iraqis.

“We meet a lot of local people, and we give them food and make sure they are safe,” he said. “The only difficulty is the language barrier.”

The unit falls under the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, but was under the tactical control of the Army’s 2nd Brigade Combat team for the majority of the missions.

“We’ve had really great support from Air Force and Army (leaders),” Colonel Bargery said. “It’s an opportunity for the Air Force to contribute to the defense of this installation in the best way possible.”

The unit is self-sustaining and has personnelists, intelligence specialists, information managers, supply Airmen, communications specialists, vehicle maintainers and medics.

“The unit isn’t just a security forces operation,” Captain Cohn said. “No matter what your job is, everyone here is trained to be a defender first.”