Blue, green team to guard post for Patton's Own

Published Sept. 12, 2008
By Master Sgt. Jeff Loftin
379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

Southwest Asia -- When Lt. Col. Joel Nadeau left the Army National Guard for the Air National Guard five years ago, he never thought it would lead him to a position as provost marshal for an Army installation here.

However, for the last six months Colonel Nadeau and 53 Airmen have been filling an "in lieu of" tasking to provide security for an Army camp at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia.

"I was Army for 15 years," said the colonel, deployed from the 101st Air Refueling Wing in Bangor, Maine. "I made the transfer from green to blue and have never looked back. I loved the Army. It has a lot of great points. I miss some things, but I have never regretted it for a single second. I'm blue."

The colonel said his past experience helped the unit mesh with its Army counterparts.

"It gave me a good knowledge base for doing the ILO mission," said the Guard officer who has also served as a civilian detective for 22 years. "It made things a lot easier. I was familiar with a lot of the Army Regulations as well as the Army organizational culture. That made for a very smooth transition."

The Airmen, part of a 379th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron geographically separated unit, had to perform their duties to Army standards. They followed Army regulations and used Army forms.

"In a lot of ways we really had to become Army while we were here," said the colonel. "We have been completely assimilated. The only difference here in the provost marshal's office is the uniform. Everyone has gelled extremely well. Externally the command staff has really made us feel like 'Patton's Own.'"

He explained that U.S. Army Central located there was previously the 3rd Army, the unit commanded by Gen. George Patton in World War II.

"Even now when a salute is rendered the proper greeting is 'Patton's Own, always first,'" he said. "In every sense of the word our Air Force personnel here have been assimilated into Patton's Own."

Airmen from the unit also appreciated the Army's warm reception.

"The Army Soldiers here are really nice," said Senior Airman Sarah Parks, an Edmond, Okla., native deployed from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. "They treat us well."

Her patrol partner echoed her sentiment.

"This is the second time I have worked with the Army," said Senior Airman Thomas Beers, a Palmbay, Fla., native deployed from Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. "I also worked at Camp Bucca in Iraq with the Army. They treat us like we're one of them."

The unit worked side-by-side not only with Soldiers, but also contractors to provide security for the installation. The unit did everything from force protection to traffic tickets.

"I've gotten a very rapid and comprehensive education in the world of contracting," said the colonel, who was also responsible for oversight of the security contract. "It has been fantastic because that will transfer to other areas. I'm sure this will not be my last interaction with a contracted service."

One of the challenges the unit faced was dealing with the needs of many different organizations.

"We have many tenant organizations here and they all have different needs," he said. "Learning what those needs are and how to best serve them from a customer service standpoint I would say was probably my biggest challenge."

Though not without its challenges, Colonel Nadeau said his team had a "very high level of mission success."

"Truly, those responsible for making this mission a success are the guys and gals from the Air Guard and our active-duty counterparts," he said. "They assimilated into the Army way. Any success I enjoy is directly due to their efforts and the quality job they did. I think they truly presented the image the Air Force would want to project in supporting a sister service."

With the ILO tasking over, the team will soon be replaced by 54 Soldiers. As they return home the colonel and his Airmen will take the experience of providing security for an Army post with them.

"My experience with the Army has been great," said Tech. Sgt. Richard Caruso, a Scotia, N.Y., native deployed from the 109th Airlift Wing there. "The things we've done here have been tremendous."