U.S., Australian airmen defend base

  • Published
  • By Capt. Miki Kristina Gilloon
  • 447th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
BAGHDAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Iraq (AFPN) --  They come from different countries, wear different uniforms and have different accents, but they do have similarities -- they work relentlessly day and night on the same team defending the air base here.

Airmen of the 447th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron and the Royal Australian Air Force airfield defense guards work side-by-side providing security and patrolling the airfield and surrounding areas watching for potential threats.

“We look for anything out of the ordinary such as suspect vehicles, people (loitering), flares and tracers,” said Staff Sgt. Shawn Schwantes, 447th ESFS fire team leader. He is deployed here from the 319th Security Forces Squadron at Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D. “We also conduct sector sweeps to see if anything (such as mortars, rockets, flares and tracers) made it this far.”

The coalition partners started joint patrols in mid-September.

The separate patrols conducted previously were redundant and posed communication difficulties, said 1st Lt. Ron Johnson, 447th ESFS operations officer. He is deployed here from the 9th SFS at Beale AFB, Calif.

“We found that we were doing the same type of footprint,” he said. “By linking up, we know where (the Australians) are and what their response is going to be. Plus we could give (one other) back-up and the ability to communicate if there happened to be a situation that warranted.”

The Australian airmen also said that the joint patrols strengthen force protection.

“The joint patrols provide a more efficient, coordinated coverage, as both services were previously conducting independent patrols of the same area,” said Squadron Leader Keith Robbins, RAAF air traffic control detachment executive officer. “It also increases security for patrolling personnel by having a greater presence should anything occur.”

The Australians and U.S. forces team up before their shifts to discuss the day’s objectives and tactics and to share information on suspicious activities.

“They try to get specific intelligence, and they share as much as they can so when they go out on patrol; they know what they’re looking for,” Johnson said.

After their briefing, the teams, consisting of a mix of Australian and U.S. airmen, depart on their patrols.

There are new challenges each day, said Sgt. Nathan Hogg, RAAF air traffic control detachment senior noncommissioned officer in charge of force protection.

“Each patrol is different in itself because (there are) so many different things each night; whether it’s a local citizen (issue), tracer fire, mortars, rockets (or) unannounced aircraft -- there’s always something happening,” he said.

The composition of the team also differs with each patrol. Each shift has a new face.

Schwantes patrolled with Aircraftman Lucas Kilpatrick, RAAF section gunner, for the first time recently, but they still found the time to build their friendship by learning about each other, their countries and cultures.

“Already tonight we talked about careers, what we’ve done, where we’ve been, and what we plan on doing,” Schwantes said. “Being from a different culture and military, we’ve asked questions on how their military works compared to ours, and their rank structures.”

Airmen from the RAAF agree about the value of the joint patrols.

“As part of the coalition force here … all of our personnel are (working) with counterparts in the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, or both, to ensure there is a good working relationship and an understanding of each other’s requirements and operations,” Robbins said. “The patrols with the 447th ESFS further enhance this by giving personnel first-hand experience working together on their primary duties and building a mutual respect for each other’s professionalism.”