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380AEW Article

"Thin Blue Line" honors law enforcement officers

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Eric Peterson
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Much of what an Airman sees each day while working in the desert environment of the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia can be defined in shades of tan or off-white. If you look closely, however, you will find many examples of artwork displayed on base that are colorful and full of meaning.

Many talented Airmen with artistic ability have served or are serving at the 380th AEW. They will redeploy to their home stations, but their artwork remains on our wing's large rocks or barriers for future groups of Airmen to continue to enjoy well into the future.

This is the first in a series of three stories that features the symbolic artwork on display at the 380th AEW.

The law enforcement career field is represented by emblems such as badges or shields, but there is also a simple straight stripe of the color blue that holds great meaning for members of the police forces in the United States and Canada.

North American police agencies recognize the thin, blue line as a symbol of respect and honor for civilian and military police members.

Recently, 16 members of the 380th ESFS volunteered to paint this symbolic mark around the security forces compound, bringing this tradition home to the wing.

"This was the first time it's been done here," said 380th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron member Senior Airman Mitchell Chesnoski. "We came up with the design we wanted to go with and put everything together and made it look great."

Senior Airman Ian Bakke, also with the deployed security forces squadron, explained the meaning behind the thin blue line and what it represents to him.

"The thin blue line is actually three separate lines," said Bakke. "You have the two shades of black on top and on bottom of the blue line and the blue line separates those two shades of black. The top shade means the local populace-civilians, innocent bystanders and the bottom means the criminals--the not good-doers. Then we have the blue line; the people that put their lives on the line every day, day in and day out, to separate order from chaos and protect the innocent."

380th ESFS Commander Maj. Michael Jewell said the meaning behind the thin blue line reflects the community service that is common in both military and civilian law enforcement agencies. He said military police and civilian law enforcement agencies often help each other with training or operational assistance when special capabilities are required.

According to Jewell, the line also serves as a subtle reminder of the 24/7, never-ending service of law enforcement professionals.

"When you're on the base we have defenders," said Jewell. "We sleep more peaceably on base because we have military police, our cops that are out there. When you're living downtown (in the United States), you go to sleep confident at night that if something happens out there somebody's going to be there to take care of things for you. It's that sense of security that is provided by our police, by our law enforcement, both on the base and off the base and it's important to recognize."

The security forces members would like Airmen when viewing the thin blue line to take a moment to reflect upon the civilian and military law enforcement members who have given their lives in service to others.

"As a military member and a law enforcement member, every day we put our life on the line," said Bakke. "State side, you have civilians every day that walk out their door and say goodbye to their families knowing that it could be their last day. But yet they do it because that is their job. They fulfill their job and they go above and beyond the call."