SOUTHWEST ASIA --The 332nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron organized several events in honor of Police Week.
Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week pays tribute to local, state and federal peace officers who died or became disabled in the line of duty.
“(It) pays respect to all the defenders who gave their lives making the ultimate sacrifice, paving the way for us to do the mission,” said Staff Sgt. Jeremy Wheat, 332nd ESFS patrolman.
“It was a tradition we wanted to carry on here,” Wheat said, adding that they wanted to, “pay respect to the defenders who lost their lives and…remember the families who are impacted.
Peace Officers Memorial Day is observed May 15 every year with Police Week taking place the same calendar week of the memorial. The 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, however, observed Police Week earlier due to Ramadan, a Muslim observance devoted to meditation and spiritual purification through self-discipline, starting June 15 and continuing until June 14.
During the week, there was a 24-hour Fallen Defender Ruck March, military working dog demo, static weapons display and a retreat ceremony. During the retreat, the official security forces prayer was recited and then the names of fallen defenders and office of special investigations agents were read.
“I think it is important that everyone see (what the) security forces and military working dog program does,” said Senior Airman Eliot Tremblay, 332nd ESFS MWD handler who performed the demo with his MWD partner. “My favorite thing about these demonstrations we put on is that we get to showcase what our dogs are capable of doing…like how well their obedience is.”
“It is a lot of fun to accomplish and show the end result (of their training),” he continued. “Dogs are very capable of multiple tasks (like) finding a bad guy on top of searching for drugs and explosives.”
The observance touched some of the security forces members personally and deeply.
“At deployed locations, it’s reality,” Wheat said about military members giving the ultimate sacrifice. “It happens. Tomorrow is never promised.”
“I personally know families who didn’t get to see their loved ones come home,” he continued. “So, it definitely hits home.”
The security forces members were able to share these feeling with the rest of the base during the various events held in honor of Police Week.
“It turned out to be a great success; we’ve had a lot of participation from other units around the base,” Wheat said. “They came out and supported us…and the ones who had their lives taken.”