Experience, fresh eyes ensure airfield security

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jennifer Lindsey
  • 455th Expeditionary Operations Group Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) --  Airman Michael Roomsburg stopped the Humvee as Staff Sgt. Chad Marten called to notify the security forces command post that the Delta-5 external security response team was set to patrol outer perimeter road.

“I’ll man the turret,” said Airman Roomsburg, an active-duty Airman deployed from Pope Air Force Base, N.C. The Muskegon, Mich., native then stepped up through the man-sized porthole and positioned himself behind the M-240 automatic rifle mounted on the vehicle roof.

“It’s all yours, but you’ll have to remind me where the turn-off is,” said Sergeant Marten, a reservist deployed from Hill AFB, Utah, as he hopped into the driver’s seat.

The team sped off onto the road covered with cocoa-colored fine dirt, creating a thick cloud around and behind the tactical vehicle.

“This is one of the most dangerous areas of the airfield we patrol (because) it’s the most likely place an attack would happen,” said Sergeant Marten who hails from Ogden, Utah. “We need to drive through quickly, but keep our eyes open for anything unusual and report it immediately.”

The two-person team’s primary mission is to ensure the base remain safe. Their unspoken mission is to protect each other from harm while providing base security.

Leaders of the 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron instill the principle that “no one flies solo.” At technical school on Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, all security forces troops commit three general orders to memory: protect personnel and property, report all violations, and sound the alarm in cases of emergency. Here, security forces also uphold a locally implemented order: “I am my brother’s and my sister’s keeper.”

In a squadron of active-duty Airmen, and activated and traditional reservists from six different stateside bases, maintaining esprit de corps is a must, said Chief Master Sgt. Nathan Huven, the squadron operations officer, who is an active-duty Airman deployed from Hill.

“Whether we’re reservists or active-duty Airmen, we’re all security forces -- we share a mutual bond and a teamwork mentality,” said Chief Huven, who hails from Monico, Wis. “We all look out for each other here. This standing order reminds us to always keep an eye on our fellow security forces members, on and off duty.”

Staying alert for any number of possible scenarios that could threaten the base’s A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, munitions or Airmen for 12 hours daily, six days a week for six months straight is tiring, monotonous and very often, unappreciated work, officials said.

Security forces is not a job for everyone. Providing a secure environment not only for Air Force, but also for Army, Navy and Marine fixed-wing and rotary aircraft here holds its own unique challenges. A few marked differences include a higher probability of being shot at while on patrol, enduring rocket attacks while on the base, carrying a firearm both on- and off-duty, and patrolling around mine fields. Additionally, new Airmen must understand that some lower-ranking Airmen who, because they have worked at the deployed location longer, may have more practical field knowledge, officials said.

Flight chiefs make full use of this edge by pairing more experienced Airmen with newer troops. Sergeant Marten, who arrived on station a few weeks later than his Delta-5 counterpart, said that he counts on the guidance offered by his fellow patrolman.

“It doesn’t matter to me if (he or she is) an airman basic, if that person has more experience on the job than I do, I’m going to listen to what he or she has to say,” Sergeant Marten said. He has served in the active-duty Air Force and the Army Reserve before enlisting as an Air Force reservist.

Sometimes it is the “newbies” who offer the sage advice, said Master Sgt. Anthony Frazier, squadron operations superintendent from Oceanside, Calif.

"That’s why flight (leaders encourage) their troops to share ideas on how to improve unit operations. We get fresh eyes and new ideas with every rotation,” said the active-duty Airman deployed from Pope. “My biggest fear is that we don’t stay attentive to what’s happening out there. We need the fresh eyes to keep us aware of what we can be doing better.”

One way the unit is doing things better is by offering a weapons cleaning and safety refresher course for newly deployed Airmen from career fields who are not accustomed to carrying weapons daily. This idea was brought forward, developed and implemented by the unit's Airman's Council, officials said.

“If no one ever came up with a better wheel, we’d see (sports cars) racing with wagon wheels,” said flight chief Tech. Sgt. Robert Ray Richards, a traditional reservist deployed from Hill. Sergeant Richards used this metaphor during a recent guard mount to encourage his troops to share their ideas on how to improve unit operations.

To break up the days, squadron Airmen play as hard as they work, which also helps with team cohesion -- they maintained a tight hold on the camp volleyball championship title since September.

“The unit's strong commitment to teamwork and innovation only make my job as the squadron commander easier,” said Capt. David Lydon, a native of Claverack, N.Y. Captain Lydon is a reservist deployed from Hanscom AFB, Mass. “We have quality people here who make maintaining esprit de corps part of their daily mission.”