Deployed security forces protecting Air Force planes in austere locations

Published Oct. 14, 2009
By Airman 1st Class David Dobrydney
379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- The majority of Airmen deployed to the 379th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron can be found patrolling the base or manning checkpoints, their boots firmly on the ground.

Others, however, find themselves deployed to provide security in the air as part of a Fly Away Security Team, or FAST, traveling to some of the most austere places in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

"It might be a dirt strip in the middle of the desert, with no perimeter, no fencing, no barriers," said FAST NCO in charge Staff Sgt. Cody Stollings, deployed from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. "So if there's anyone in that area, they are the security for that aircraft and everyone on it."

The team consists of traditional security forces Airmen who are tasked at home station to perform FAST duty during their deployment. In addition to pre-deployment preparations, they undergo a two-week course that places more emphasis on aircraft security and on how to interact with foreign populations.

Team leader Senior Airman Betsy Johnson, deployed from RAF Mildenhall, England, described how members are taught "verbal judo."

"You learn how to talk people down from an incident so they don't escalate," Airman Johnson said. "There are certain ways we have to deal with situations to avoid miscommunication with another culture."

"Basically, we have to be more of ambassadors for the United States," Sergeant Stollings said. "When we're abroad the local people don't care that we're cops; they just see us as Americans."

The FAST training is derived from Air Mobility Command's Phoenix Raven program and is taught by the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center at Joint Base, McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. Phoenix Raven is the Air Force's program for in-transit security for AMC aircraft.

During the 10-day Fly Away Security Team course at the Expeditionary Center, students receive classroom training in areas such as fly away security concept of operations, legal use of force, verbal judo and cross cultural communication. They also learn practical, out of the classroom, training in subjects such as self defense and anti-hijacking training. The first course took place at the Expeditionary Center in 2007.

In Southwest Asia, Sergeant Stollings said he will assign two to four FAST members to each mission. When a tasking comes down, the Airmen will first gather and check their gear. After getting ready and checking ground intelligence for the area, they arm up and receive the aircrew's mission briefing before going out to the aircraft, said Senior Airman Dustin Walker, deployed from Bolling AFB, Washington, D.C.

FAST team leaders are responsibile to the aircraft commander as their chief of security to ensure the aircraft, mission, and aircrew remain secure. The differences between career fields has no bearing on making sure the mission gets accomplished. "That's all put aside when it comes to the security of the aircraft," Sergeant Stollings said.

Once the aircraft arrives in an area where security is sparse or nonexistent, the team goes into action. "We may land on an airstrip where we may be the only Americans for hundreds of miles," Airman Walker said.

Besides dealing with unusual situations, Airman Walker said the language barrier is one of the many challenges of being a FAST member. "Sometimes people will ask us questions and we can't understand them and they can't understand us," Airman Walker said. "It turns out they were just asking if we needed fuel or not."

For a small team, the FAST can be very busy. "Some months we'll be swamped," Sergeant Stollings said. For example, in August the FAST aided in the safe transport of more than 1,000 tons of cargo and, in September, they provided security for the transportation of nearly 800 passengers.

The success the FAST Airmen achieve on a daily basis in multiple countries is testament to their professionalism, Sergeant Stollings said. "The FAST members here are a special breed," he said. "We make sure we know our stuff because when we succeed, the mission gets done and America looks good to those who may have never met an American before."