Security Forces Airmen Train, Mentor Iraqi Police

Multi-National Force - Iraq ^ | Staff Sgt. Tim Beckham, USAF

[SandRat]

A convoy of security forces Airmen from the 732nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron Detachment 2, roll out of Camp Striker, Iraq May 8. The Airmen will convoy outside the wire to a local city to train and mentor the Iraqi Police on everything from conducting basic patrols to weapon handling techniques. Photo by Senior Airman Jacqueline Romero.

CAMP STRYKER — In a crowded briefing room more than two dozen security forces members sporting flight suits casually sit and wait for their squad leader to start the briefing for the day's mission.

As the squad leader makes his way to the front of the room the lightheartedness quickly turns to seriousness, because these Airmen will be going outside the wire within the hour.

"We are always a little nervous before a mission because we don't really know what's going to happen, but once we get out there and start going through our battle drills things star to flow smoothly," said Senior Airman J.B. Dixon, 732nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron Detachment.

This is just one of many missions these security forces Airmen will embark on during their time here, with each one getting them ever closer to their goal – a secure and stable Iraq. They are helping make that goal a reality by training and mentoring the Iraqi Police.

"Our day-to-day mission is to go out and advise the Iraqi Police and my role is to speak with the station commander and to help him utilize his systems to get him the supplies he needs to better utilize his forces," said Tech. Sgt. Richard Burke, 732nd ESFS Det. 2 squad leader.

For many of these Airmen, this is a unique mission. Often responsible for base defense, many of these security forces members are happy to be a part of something different.

"It's always good to get out of our comfort zones and be able to put our skills to use," said Sergeant Burke. "They [security forces Airmen] volunteered for this mission and they enjoy going outside the wire and interacting with the Iraqi Police and working with them to get to a level where they can better protect themselves."

These Airmen could easily perform the mission themselves, but the point of them risking their lives on a daily basis is to ensure the Iraqi Police can continue the mission and protect their communities when U.S. troops eventually pull out of Iraq.

"Allowing the Iraqi Police the opportunity to go out there and build that trust with their community, is very important and will eventually lead to the next step in Iraq's development," said Sgt. Burke. "It is important for the IPs to get their faces out there and gather the information they need to do their job."

"We try to focus our training on leadership and enforcing standards so when the community sees them they will say, 'Wow, they are squared away and really know their job,'" added 1st Lt. Brian Mack, 732nd ESFS Det. 2 flight commander.

When the mission is complete on this day, these Airmen will go back to base and get some much needed down time to prepare to begin the whole process over again.

[SandRat]

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[Future Snake Eater]

...because these Airmen will be going outside the wire within the hour.

lol...

[2banana]

“This is where the soft ice cream machine goes, here is where the cable TV goes...”