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'Lion' Airmen patrol outside to protect inside

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski
  • U.S. AFCENT Combat Camera Team
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq --  For some Airmen, its keep your friends close and your enemies as far away from your base as possible.

Every day, the 532nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron's force protection patrols, "the Lions," as they're called, travel outside of Joint Base Balad to provide a security presence that aims to deter anyone who would do harm to the people who live and work here.

The Lions are the only Air Force defenders who conduct outside-the-wire missions specifically tasked with protecting an air base in either Iraq or Afghanistan.

By patrolling the fields, farmlands and neighboring villages, it's a lot more difficult for insurgents to get close enough to the launch mortars or rockets at the base, said Capt. Lucas Hall, the officer in charge of the force protection patrol section.

"We've had a 52 percent reduction in indirect fire and a 40 percent reduction in small-arms fire at overhead aircraft since last year," said Captain Hall, deployed from Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. "We're directly contributing to making this area of Iraq a lot safer with these patrols. It's all about denying terrain to our enemies."

The Airmen have also captured myriad weapons caches and discovered numerous improvised explosive devices before they could be used against Coalition forces.

According to Captain Hall, the program draws inspiration from Operation Safe Side, a Security Forces mission during Vietnam that called for Airmen to defend air bases in Southeast Asia.

The patrols "provide a positive presence," the captain said. The Airmen regularly talk to local Iraqis face-to-face, instead of just riding through villages in convoys -- a practice consistent with their training in counterinsurgency techniques, Iraqi culture, and basic Arabic language.

Tech. Sgt. Emmett Mack III, a squad leader, said Iraqis who live near the base are reassured by the patrols as well.

"They don't want violence in their villages and homes, so if we're friendly with them, they're more likely to work with us," said Sergeant Mack, deployed from Andrews AFB, Md. "We talk to the locals, and if they have needs that aren't being met, we work with the Army teams who are handling that aspect of the mission. But our job helps them as well as us."

Senior Airman Brendan Cunniff, deployed from Holloman AFB, N.M., has seen the effect of working directly with the locals during combat patrols. He's a turret gunner on his third deployment to Balad, his fourth overall.

"We don't get mortared nearly as much as we used to," Airman Cunniff said. "A lot of that is because of these patrols. (Locals) see us every day and if people know you, they're less likely to want to see you get hurt."

Force protection patrols are an essential part of the security plan at Balad, Sergeant Mack said.

"We all have a mission to do," he said, "ours is to keep everyone safe so they can do theirs."