Bagram Security Forces Enhance Afghan Quality of Life

Airman 1st Class Lee Tamburro, 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, moves concertina wire lay out on the gravel to the walking path pavement, Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Dec. 30, 2010. The security forces airman are moving the C-wire from the gravel to a pavement walking path which local national employee use every day. The move of the C-wire is to improve the quality of life for the more than five thousand Bagram local national employees. (Air Force photo/Senior Airman Sheila deVera)

Bagram Security Forces Enhance Afghan Quality of Life

Airman 1st Class Brandon Spears, 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, removes concertina wire at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Dec. 30, 2010. The security forces airman are moving the C-wire from the gravel to a pavement walking path which local national employee use every day. The move of the C-wire is to improve the quality of life for the more than five thousand Bagram local national employees. (Air Force photo/Senior Airman Sheila deVera)

Bagram Security Forces Enhance Afghan Quality of Life

Senior Airman Matthew DiBenedetto, 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron Alpha Sector, removes concertina wire at Entry Control Point 1, Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Dec. 30, 2010. The security forces airman are moving the C-wire from the gravel to a pavement walking path which local national employee use every day. The move of the C-wire is to improve the quality of life for the more than five thousand Bagram local national employees. (Air Force photo/Senior Airman Sheila deVera)

Bagram Security Forces Enhance Afghan Quality of Life

455th ESFS Airmen achieve mission through friendship, relating to Afghans

Published Jan. 3, 2011
By Tech. Sgt. Michael Voss
455th Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- Security forces members assigned to the 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron here, in addition to securing one of the most dangerous places on earth, are guarding one of the busiest pedestrian base entry gates in the Area of Operations.

Each day, the Airmen assigned to guard the entry control point fight the constant struggle of staying motivated in the harsh, often sandy Afghanistan climate and building trust between themselves and the more than five thousand local national employees who process the gate on their way to work at the installation.

For each of the team assigned to the entry control point, the workday begins with guard mount around 3 a.m. During guard mount, team leaders like Master Sgt. Robert MaGee, a 17-year security forces Airman about half-way through a six-month stint at Bagram, briefs the team on any events from the prior night's shift as well as any intelligence or possible trends that were observed.

Luckily for the husband and father of two, this-his third deployment-has been slightly easier for him because he has deployed with other security forces Airmen from his home unit, the 55th Security Forces Squadron from Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.

"It's hard being away from our families; really hard as the holidays pass by," he said. "But it helps to know some of the people you are working with day-in and day-out before getting here."
Most of the Airmen who make up the detail for the ECP have known each other since the end of last July when they started the deployment process by going to a two-month predeployment class at Fort Bliss, Texas. During those eight weeks the Airmen were exposed to convoy training, reacting under fire and combat life saver skills they now use every day.

Today, the team-which has spent more time together than some families-tries to find normalcy in things like eating together at the dining facility or going to the gym before work even though it cuts into sleep.

"Some of us get off work, grab dinner and head straight for the sack until the next shift," said Staff Sgt. Christine Sparks, 455th ESFS Airman who is also deployed from Offutt. "Others like myself, get as much sleep as we can but are up by midnight to go to the gym, shower and make guard mount."

Still working 12 to 14 hour days, minus guard mount, can be tiring on these professionals, but it is always the friends and moments that keep them going.

"I have made Facebook friends over here that I intend to keep. I love online ancestry searching, and have even found one of my roommates is a distant cousin," explained the Salem, Mo., native. "But what has made the impression on me are the moments. The other day I sat outside the gate and helped a young Afghan boy who broke his leg. I checked his injuries and kept him stable as my teammates kept watch over me. We are only a cog in a wheel here, but we are a very important cog in that wheel."

As a 12-hour shift winds down, these security forces Airmen end the day moving a concertina wire alley Afghan employees must travel within the compound every day. They can't be sure what the next day will bring, no one day is like another in Afghanistan, but they are sure they are doing their best to make a difference.

"You know it's hard to wake up and work those kinds of hours, but I think about my family back home; what they taught me. I read their letters every day; it keeps me motivated to know they are proud of me," explained Senior Airman Brandon Spears, a deployed security forces Airmen from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., serving his first deployment. "And, I have made friends here; mainly because we have something in common, like we grew up in the same bad area and overcame that environment."

As Airman Spears continued to talk about not allowing his past dictate his future, he related his success to the opportunity the Afghan people hold in their hands and why he supports the mission they set out to accomplish each day at 3 a.m.

"Are we making a difference here? I say yes and no," stated the Fayetteville, N.C., native. "There are still Taliban out there, and we still have work to do, but every day when the locals come on to the base to work, they shake our hands and thank us and that tells me we are making a difference in their future."