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Defend the Installation: DO fear the Reaper!

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. David Dobrydney
  • 445th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan --  Editor's Note: This is the second in a three-part series of articles on how the 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Group safeguards the people and equipment on Bagram Airfield.

Every day, they are out there.

Every day, the Airmen of the 755th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron Reaper teams venture forth to seek out threats, respond to attacks or escort base leaders to visits with local officials.

"Our mission is to defend the base," said Senior Master Sgt. Edward Tillman, 755th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron superintendent, who oversees multiple Reaper teams which are continuously moving through the Bagram Base Security Zone.

"We conduct operations 365 days a year between all our teams," said Master Sgt. Grant Holder, Reaper 1 squad leader. "There's always going to be a team outside the wire."

An important facet of the Reaper mission is working with the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police, said Tillman.

"We're doing joint patrols with the ANA and ANP, letting locals know these guys are going to be taking the lead," he said, adding, "we're on the right track."

Working the day shift, Reaper 1 squad primarily works security for key leader engagements in the more than 90 villages around the base.

"We're giving them a stable environment to progress with their economic development ... providing them that security so they can live their daily lives," said Holder, deployed here from Moody Air Force Base, Ga.

A recent mission for Reaper 1 involved escorting a commander to a meeting with a provincial governor in a nearby village. The Airmen were at the Reaper compound before sunrise, preparing their Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicles while Holder receives their operational order for the mission.

These massive vehicles weigh more than 40,000 pounds and are specifically designed to withstand small arms fire and blasts from mines.

Once the operational order drops, the Reaper Airmen attend their mission brief, listening intently as their routes, objectives and any threats are discussed. Afterward, there is another flurry of activity as they armor up, perform final checks and pile into their vehicles.
The next stop will be the entry control point where weapons will be armed and from then on, all focus is on completing the mission.

"We're focused on security of our formation, as we're moving in the villages and driving down the roads," Holder said. "Number one for us is making sure everyone gets outside the wire and gets back on [base] safely."

Staff Sgt. Christopher Madden, 755th ESFS, is a veteran of more than 180 Reaper missions and said that he's seen a lot during his time here. It would be easy to become jaded, he said, but then he thinks about his brother in the Army. When he sees the aircraft safely taking off from the flightline, "I think to myself, 'that's why I do this,'" said Madden, "to be able to keep the aircraft and people on this base safe."