FAST defenders from Yokota keep fliers safe in Afghanistan

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Emily F. Alley
  • 451st AEW Public Affairs
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan --  A C-130 Hercules shuddered as it hit a clay runway in Afghanistan April 10. A pair of security forces Airmen, weighed down with body armor, weapons and pouches stuffed with ammunition, were the first two to step off the back ramp. Each took a side of the aircraft and watched as passengers and cargo quickly loaded into the still-running plane; propellers sprayed dust and sand. Within a matter of minutes, the pair of security forces Airmen folded back into the plane and it roared down the runway and back into the sky.

Several unsecured runways lie throughout Afghanistan and, while they can be useful to transporting people and supplies, they can be dangerous. The 451st AEW Security Forces Squadron has a Fly Away Security Team that pairs security forces Airman to travel with aircraft into open airfields.

Staff Sgt. Mark King, an Airman deployed from Yokota Air Base, Japan, and FAST leader, compared his job to the Phoenix Ravens, from Air Mobility Command, who fly all over the world. The training is similar and includes physical self-defense as well as verbal skills to diffuse a situation. They study cultural concerns, legal considerations, explosive ordinance awareness and even embassy operations. When they are approached by local Afghans, it may not even be out of hostility, but curiosity. Some ask why the crew is there, or request them to leave. Sergeant King said his crew may be at the airfield for a few days, or a few minutes.

During each mission, the crew members assess the airfield and may document it with a camera. They look for fencing, lighting, entry control points and any surrounding buildings.

Sergeant King and his team are not limited to working outside the aircraft, however.

"We provide security for aircraft behind the wire and in the air," King said.  He explained that during flight, they may supervise detainees or provide extra security for dignitaries.

He added, however, that the people he most appreciates flying with are the ones wearing a uniform. Those people, he said, are the ones who may have been working for months out of a forward operating base and are finally taking well-earned leave, or going home. He may fly a mission with a medical team who, with the help of the security he provided, are helping to save lives.

Before he stepped out of the back of the cargo plane April 10, he checked his weapon's magazine and affected a scowl. He vaguely recalled that the mission was about his 13th in Afghanistan. Luckily, they smoothly loaded back on the plane and returned safely to Kandahar.