Airmen provide convoy security for Soldiers, Marines in Iraq

  • Published
  • By Donna Miles
  • American Forces Press Service
CAMP BULLIS, Texas (AFPN) --  When Master Sgt. William Chapman joined the Air Force transportation field 20 years ago, he never dreamed he would use his skills far beyond the flightline.

Recently returned from Iraq, Sergeant Chapman is teaching his fellow Airmen critical skills needed to conduct convoy-security missions there.

It is a nontraditional mission the Air Force has not carried out since Vietnam but took on again early in 2004 to help ease the burden on the Army and Marine Corps, said Air Force Master Sgt. Phil Coolberth, who helped establish the Air Force's new Basic Combat Convoy Course here.

Today, the Air Force is a full partner with the Army and Marine Corps as it runs convoys throughout Iraq, with more than 1,000 transportation, security forces and medical and personnel Airmen trained to help provide security, said 1st Lt. Leo Martin, course commander.

The course packs into four weeks the combat skills Airmen will need to stay alive as they carry out the mission, including weapons, tactics, maneuver and small-unit leadership skills.

That is no small task, considering the limited ground combat training most Airmen receive. Airmen typically receive just one week of field experience during basic training and fire their weapons only once every two years.

"Unless your specialty is security forces or special operations, our knowledge of field skills is pretty limited," Lieutenant Martin said.

While acknowledging that the training represents a real "cultural switch," Sergeant Coolberth said Airmen's lack of field combat skills when they enter the training is not all bad. They come to the course without ingrained bad habits and are open to the course material as they undergo training specifically geared to the convoy mission, he said.

"We're building the perfect set of skills for this exact mission," Sergeant Coolberth said.

He was among the first Airmen deployed to Southwest Asia to conduct convoy security and received only a patchwork of training before arriving in Iraq.

Sergeant Coolberth said he and his colleagues quickly recognized the need for a comprehensive, standardized training program geared specifically for the mission in Iraq.

The basic training plan was sketched out on a restaurant napkin, then Sergeant Coolberth worked with Airmen of the 342nd Training Squadron at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, to create a full-blown course to prepare Airmen for the threats they are likely to encounter.

Students qualify on M-4 assault rifles and M-249 machine guns and learn to shoot long distances at night. They are also taught the rules of engagement, and laws of armed conflict, and are trained in land navigation and tactical communications. They practice convoy maneuvers to learn how to react if their vehicle comes under fire, hits a roadside bomb or breaks down, and how to protect themselves if they are forced to abandon their vehicle. Some of the students also receive basic combat lifesaving training.

Then the Airmen go to the field for a four-day tactical exercise that puts their new knowledge to the test under realistic conditions.

"We train them on the basic skills sets so when they get into a situation, they can make split-second decisions and make them right," Sergeant Coolberth said. "We instill confidence in them and make sure they're mission-ready."

"Our emphasis is on small-unit leadership," said Staff Sgt. Walter Voltz, the student first sergeant who earned a Bronze Star while conducting a convoy mission in Iraq. "This is an exercise in teaching these young kids how to make sound decisions using a model that's tried and true."

After completing the training at Camp Bullis, the students head to Fort Hood, Texas, to validate their skills, then deploy to Southwest Asia "within days," Sergeant Coolberth said. This ensures they are "very motivated students," he said. "We don't have any trouble keeping them awake in the classroom."

Airman 1st Class Todd Martin, from Kadena Air Base, Japan, said the training here "is preparing us for everything that could come our way," and it is giving him "a lot more confidence" for the mission he will soon carry out in Iraq.

"We're learning a lot here," Airman Martin said. "They're teaching us as much as they can, and most of the instructors have been there. That's as good as it can get."

The course instructors, many of whom have conducted convoy security missions in Iraq, use their experiences to prepare the Airmen. But they are quick to acknowledge that with the ever-changing situation on the ground, they cannot rely on past experience alone.

To keep the training up-to-date, Sergeant Coolberth said the staff constantly taps into the latest intelligence from Iraq and incorporates that information into their program.

"Our exercises mirror scenarios on the ground," he said. "We're constantly changing the curriculum to match the intelligence. Intelligence drives the operations, and operations drive the training."

Of all the information presented to the Airmen before they deploy to Iraq, the instructors said the most important lessons are focusing on the mission, paying attention to detail, and being flexible to the situation at hand.

If there is any measure of success of the program, it is how students are received in the field. Sergeant Voltz said he ran into "a little skepticism at first from Army units on the ground," but after seeing the Airmen perform, he said the Soldiers "were asking for them by name."

Sergeant Voltz calls the program a major step forward in the Air Force's ability to work jointly with its sister services and to prepare its people as they take on new, nontraditional missions.

"This is a proven course that saves people's lives," he said. "We try to put these guys in the right frame of mind so they can focus on the mission and survive the rigors of combat."

The course will soon be conducted at a new training facility under construction at Camp Bullis. It will be named Camp Anderson-Peters, in memory of two Airmen killed in Bayji, Iraq, while conducting convoy security missions -- Airman Carl Anderson and Staff Sgt. Dustin Peters.