451 AEW members augment KAF IMP

Published June 3, 2011
By 1st Lt. Abigail Wise
451 AEW Public Affairs

KANDHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- Members of the 451st Air Expeditionary Wing volunteer their time and expertise to augment Kandahar Air Field International Security Assistance Force Military Police.

The KAF IMP are responsible for upholding the law on base, spanning from lost identification cards to vehicle accidents to compound sweeps, and everything in between that you would expect a traditional police department to handle. They are composed of US and coalition forces.

"Our coalition IMP partners bring some phenomenal expertise to the fight. We're extremely fortunate to work with some of the best MPs from around the world. It's a different set of eyes when responding to incidents. There's a lot of gray area when conducting law enforcement operations and we rely on our coalition counterparts to share their experiences with some of our very young Airmen," said Master Sgt. Bill "TF Thunder" Seguin, IMP operations superintendent.

While the IMP vehicles rove the base for suspicious activity, they also receive information from base agencies about illegal activity. One result of this would be the compound sweeps.

This means the IMP with the help of augmentees will enter a compound on base and search the entire area for dangerous or illegal contraband or personnel not authorized on base. Findings range from alcohol to weapons.

The compound search on May 26 began with a formal briefing for all involved. Before the sun rose that day, details of the location were discussed as well as number of rooms and how long the operation is expected to last. Groups were broken down ahead of time with experienced IMP as team leaders. The teams split and discussed their individual mission and how they'll handle a non-routine situation.

"Protecting the base from inside threats is very necessary," said Staff Sgt. Thomas Beers, 451st Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron plans and programs and IMP augmentee.

Sergeant Beers volunteers often for these missions, because this is the kind of thing he has been trained to do.

"We start our SF training like this and are very efficient and professional about it," he said.

Some volunteer to expand their experiences while deployed and work with the coalition forces.

"Working with the coalition forces is great, because we all have the same mission and mind set of keeping the base safe," said Senior Airman Antwoine Smith, 451st ESFS tactical security element and IMP augmentee. "It builds camaraderie knowing we're working together to keep the base safe."

Keeping minds on the mission is essential, and we want to help facilitate that, he said.

The help is appreciated on the compound searches as well as day-to-day happenings.

"We couldn't do this job without the help of other units," said Major Edward Hunn, IMP provost marshal.

"We coordinate with most every agency on base to stay on top of things," said Staff Sgt. Thomas Morris, IMP Patrolman. "It can be a challenge with so many different nationalities all having different laws, but everyone falls under the Uniform Code of Military Justice."

Here, the coalition forces work together to achieve the common goal of base safety.