AL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar -- In the ever-changing landscape of the U.S. Air Forces Central Command battlespace, one thing never changes – U.S. Air Force security forces Airmen stand ready day and night at installations across Southwest Asia.
To ensure these defenders remain prepared for any threat, the AFCENT Force Protection directorate on the Air Force Forces staff at the Combined Air Operations Center here acts as the nexus of Air Force security operations across the area of responsibility. In that role, the FP staff provides guidance and support to enable security forces personnel to protect personnel, assets, and, ultimately, the mission.
"Our number one priority is to support the warfighter in the field,” said Col. Michael Gimbrone, the AFCENT Force Protection director. “Our goal is to provide a mission-ready, resilient, and air-minded security force, organized, trained, and equipped to deliver enduring, integrated defense against threats to Air Force, joint, and coalition missions.”
To achieve this, the AFCENT Force Protection directorate hosts a semiannual Force Protection coordination board here.
“Twice a year we host all of our security forces leaders from throughout the AOR to provide the chance to interact with each other on various topics through presentations and guided discussions on how to handle different situations affecting the AOR,” said Gimbrone. “By having these guided discussions, we benefit from the knowledge and experience of all participants and help ensure we have a common operating picture.”
Regardless of the unit, relationships are key to any successful organization.
“The FPCB helped to re-emphasize and strengthen those relationships across the AOR while giving us the ability to synchronize priorities and shift resources based on the needs identified,” said Chief Master Sgt. Chris Clark, the 386th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron security forces manager. “The end result will be a defender who is more knowledgeable, capable, and lethal in defense of Air Force, joint, and coalition personnel and equipment.”
Gimbrone said that by hosting this board, they are able to help advance all three of AFCENT’s priorities.
“These defenders are on the front line, on the tip of the spear,” Gimbrone said. “And by bringing everyone together, we’re able to develop relationships with those people who are directly defending the region, to help ensure AFCENT personnel throughout the AOR are able to effectively deliver airpower,” he added.
Experts from various sectors of the security forces career field come together over the two-day board and share information and participate in forums and improve security processes in the field.
“We communicate with these people almost daily, whether it is through email, phone, video teleconference, or sometimes in person,” said Chief Master Sgt. Donnie Gallagher, AFCENT Force Protection security forces manager. “I think the big value is having all these individuals in one room talking about emerging issues that they have at their particular installation.”
“We all share similar problems defending an installation and this is a really great opportunity for them to sit together and discuss different ways that they are tackling those issues, because at the end of the day, a defender is a defender but at all the different places we defend, the tactical situation is different,” he added.
The board is not just a time to come together to discuss issues and tactics relating to the present, but also to discuss the outlook on the potential future of the AFCENT battlespace.
“We take them out of the day-to-day grind so they can focus on broader issues from an operational to a strategic level so they can go back and be even more effective at the tactical level,” Gimbrone said. “Because at the end of the day, we are more than 15 years into this fight and we need to look at the long haul of where this fight may be in 10, 15, 30 years down the road.
"But regardless of how far into the future you look, AFCENT Airmen can always count on U.S. Air Force security forces defenders to be on point providing integrated defense against whatever threats may arise."