Security forces Airman selected for special duty

Published April 20, 2010
By Senior Airman Jarrod R. Chavana
U.S. Air Forces Central Command Public Affairs

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFNS) -- U.S. military officials use protective security details to protect high-level officials, their nation's leaders and world leaders while they're in the area of operations.

In Iraq, Tech. Sgt. Matt Loiselle is a personal security adviser to Maj. Gen. Joseph Reynes Jr., the U.S. Forces-Iraq director for the Air Component Coordination Element, the Force Strategic Engagement Cell and Air Expeditionary Task Force Det. 2.

"General Reynes has been designated as a national security asset," Sergeant Loiselle said. "He is provided protection because of his importance here. There has been an investigation, plus numerous intelligence reports stating he's been a target of sectarian groups who would like to see his programs fail."

The ACCE-I represents the combined force's air component commander to the commanding general, U. S. Forces-Iraq. They also facilitate information flow between the CFACC, deployed Air Force units and U. S. Forces-Iraq staff and assigned organizations. This helps coordinate and enable air operations for coalition forces and provide strategic oversight to ensure the synchronization of all air component assets with USF-I for combat and non-combat operations.

To prepare Sergeant Loiselle for this kind of mission, he had to go through an interactive, three-week course called Protective Service Operations in Richmond, Va.

"The course began with us learning about target threat and counter-surveillance recognition and then they took us into downtown Richmond, where they created a mock situation with players dressed in civilian clothing," said Sergeant Loiselle, who is deployed from Langley Air Force Base, Va. "Our job was to find whoever was surveying us and our movements as we walked through the crowded streets."

During the second phase of the course, Sergeant Loiselle learned different driving techniques, such as breaking at high rates of speed and how to ram a vehicle to get out of a situation.

The instructors taught him various shooting positions such as shooting from behind someone, firing over their shoulder, and to fire accurately at targets more than 600 yards away.

"Then they combined the firing exercises and the driving, but this time the instructors drove and I had to engage targets while hanging outside the window," Sergeant Loiselle said. "This wasn't even the most trying portion of the course. The most challenging portion was called 'malfunction junction.'

"Seven different M-4s were laid out in front of me, each one was configured to have a different malfunction or jam; one of the instructors acted as the person I'm supposed to be protecting, also called the principal," he said. "So I have the principal behind me and he starts screaming, 'Get me out of here; get me out of here.' Then someone started shooting an AK-47, loaded with live rounds over my head and the hot brass was falling all over me. Then someone began shooting blank shotgun shells between my legs, the blast was blowing up into my face."

What Sergeant Loiselle realized was he had to stay calm and remember the fundamentals, which he's learned from being in security forces for more than 10 years.

"During all this, I cleared the jams, cleared the malfunctions, charged the weapon and engaged the targets, while the principal was trying to get away from me," he said. "It's really an unbelievable situation."

Air Force regulations state personal security detail advisers must be special agents from the Office of Special Investigations. But Sergeant Loiselle worked with General Reynes from 2005 through 2006 at Osan Air Base, South Korea, during a series of military exercises, where he had to protect the general from series of enemy attacks.

"I relocated from Korea and went on one full deployment and two years later, he e-mailed me out of the blue requesting I be his PSD. It was a huge honor," Sergeant Loiselle said. "Since, I've been his PSD and we've done more than 1,200 missions. At least 400 have been in the red zone, with zero casualties."

Sergeant Loiselle has been in charge of three teams consisting of 40 Army members, and he trained them to help protect the general whenever he had missions in a red zone. A red zone is anywhere the enemy has the capability to cause harm to U.S. forces.

"Sergeant Loiselle deployed by my request and he didn't have to," said General Reynes said. "From the times we worked together in Korea, he has shown an outstanding professionalism and attention to detail, that I knew could help me in Iraq. This has paid huge dividends as we packed up the strategic engagement mission in Iraq. Matt's leadership of the team has allowed me to do my job effectively and I can't thank him enough."

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