Airmen swear to defend brothers, sisters in arms

  • Published
  • By Capt. Catie Hague
  • 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) --  “I am my brothers’ and sisters’ keeper” are words the 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron Airmen here live by and, if need be, swear to die by.

“We focus on mission, safety and the welfare of our Airmen,” said Master Sgt. Adam Barber, 455th ESFS operations superintendent. “It’s a 24-hour job, seven days a week, and it involves quite a bit more than most people realize. We are not just gate guards and flightline badge producers.”

The Air Force’s security forces team is an essential part of Bagram’s integrated base defense, led by the U.S. Army.

“We are tasked to provide total security for about two-and-a-half miles of flightline covered with fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft,” said Capt. David Lydon, 455th ESFS commander. “We’re the core, because we’re positioned where the assets are.”

With a team of both active-duty and Reserve servicemembers, the squadron “makes sure the right people are in the right place, doing the right thing,” said Chief Master Sgt. Nate Huven, 455th ESFS operations officer.

“Our team enforces this concept in every area of responsibility,” he said.

Besides mobile patrols and posted sentries at key locations along the flightline, Airmen of the 455th ESFS maintain the security forces control center, manage the Air Force’s ammunition supply and security forces’ vehicle fleet, disseminate intelligence, process incoming and outgoing people, and provide off-base security when needed.

“As part of the vulnerability assessment team, we look for deficiencies in physical security,” said Tech. Sgt. Jeff Olsen, 455th ESFS noncommissioned officer in charge of anti-terrorism and force protection. “We do sweeps of the area, walk the fence and look for breaks in the line.

Two-thirds of the security forces troops voluntarily work special teams known as tactical security elements, putting themselves in harm’s way to carry out operations “outside the wire.”

“Some of us are part of the rocket attack team,” said Airman 1st Class Nate Lowrey. “We provide security for off-base, post-attack reconnaissance -- going out to the location where we think the rocket was launched and conducting counterintelligence and human intelligence.”

Other security force Airmen support the Office of Special Investigations.

“Every time (OSI agents) go off base to investigate something, we volunteer our off-duty time to act as personal security while they carry out their mission,” said Master Sgt. Robert Nolen, 455th ESFS administrator and patrolmaster.

“Every once in a while, I have to put things into perspective,” Captain Lydon said. “We’re here to defend the airfield and our Airmen. When everything remains safe, sometimes the troops feel like they’re not a part of what’s going on. They can’t go home after work, point to something and say, ‘I made that, or I fixed that.’ Security is a concept, and the finished product is rarely noticed unless it’s failed in some way.”

But it is a concept the Airmen said they are fine with.

“We are a weapon available for our (leaders’) use when and if needed,” Captain Lydon said. “And it’s my job to remind the troops that the airfield, the aircraft and the people are safe because they are here.”