Photo By Lt. Col. Anthony Deiss | Master Sgt. Todd Mettler, right, and Maj. Phillip Stiles, both with the Directorate of...... read more read more
CAMP PHOENIX, Afghanistan – When it comes to force protection for the Kabul Base Cluster, ensuring the 11 military installations of the KBC are properly protected is the responsibility of the Directorate of Emergency Services.
“We are responsible for assessing and analyzing the threats against the KBC,” said Maj. Phillip Stiles, director of the DES. “We start from the outside walls and look all the way in.”
From base perimeters and guard towers to entry control points and searching procedures, these soldiers of the 196th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, South Dakota Army National Guard, look at security from every possible angle.
“To assess threats we look at three areas; ourselves, to find what our vulnerabilities are; the enemy, to see what their capabilities are; and critical areas, the parts of camps where we could not perform our mission if those areas were affected,” said Stiles, of Rapid City, S.D.
“Vulnerabilities come in all shapes and forms,” said Master Sgt. Todd Mettler, non-commissioned officer in change for the DES. “We do an inspection of all the camps and look at all the force protection measures they have in place and how to improve them, to include protection of troop billets and dining facilities.”
The DES visits with everyone from the lowest-ranking soldiers manning the towers to the highest-ranking officers operating the camps.
“Everyone has different information or perspectives that someone else may not have,” said Stiles. “Everyone’s input is valuable.”
After assessing camp areas, the DES conducts a risk assessment and prioritizes projects to protect against rockets, mortars and small-arms fire. One of the principal threats the DES looks at extensively is the improvised explosive device.
“The IED is a big threat and it’s one thing we strive to protect ourselves from,” said Mettler, of Sioux Falls, S.D. “Detection and deterrence are probably two of the biggest assets to defeating the IED.”
“We look to identify where the enemy’s avenues of approach are – entry control points being one,” added Stiles. “Making sure foot and vehicle traffic are safe and effective is a key area.”
Once vulnerabilities are identified, the DES gets to work on implementing changes and improvements.
“We work with our KBC counterparts in the Directorates of Public Works and Resource Management, so we can get the funds and develop the contracts we need to make improvements,” said Stiles. “Force protection is really a team effort and we can’t be successful without the help from our other directorates.”
It’s not just bombs and bullets the DES works to protect against, but also people. The DES evaluates badging and biometrics procedures to keep enemy personnel from infiltrating the bases.
“We have many people that are not U.S. military that work on our camps – from contractors to local Afghans,” said Mettler. “We badge people to know who they are and that they have a purpose to be here.
“The biometrics piece is huge,” continued Mettler. “In Afghanistan, you will find people using fake documents, so we biometrically enroll people – we take finger prints, retinal scans, their picture – to make sure that a person coming onto camp is that person and not the Taliban.”
With upgrading physical security measures, as well as personnel screening processes, the DES has increased the KBC’s force protection footprint across Kabul.
“We’ve made significant strides in our force protection posture and we’re working towards improving even those,” said Stiles. “We started numerous projects on all of our camp and within a year those improvements will pay significant dividends.”
According to Stiles, the camp’s security posture is also making neighborhoods around the bases safer.
“It’s important for Afghan citizens to understand that the security that is improved here on the camps also improves security for those neighborhoods around them,” he said. “Any improvements we make – making it more difficult or a less appealing target for insurgents to attack – in turn improves area security.”
Even with upgrades to security in and around the bases, these soldiers know they can never stop fortifying their position.
“The threats are evolving,” said Stiles. “The threat we had in 2003 is not necessarily the same threat that we face today. As we evolve so does the enemy and we need to stay ahead of them.”
To stay ahead of the enemy’s tactics, it’s not just concrete barricades and surveillance systems that keep base residents secure, but also people.
“The best defense is the soldiers and their vigilance,” said Stiles. “It’s a combination of the technology, the construction and the soldiers. We have to have equal parts of all three, but vigilance with the soldiers is where it all begins.”
| Date Taken: | 12.20.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 12.20.2010 09:13 |
| Story ID: | 62325 |
| Location: | CAMP PHOENIX, AF |
| Web Views: | 164 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Protecting the force: Directorate of Emergency Services assess Kabul base security, by LTC Anthony Deiss, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT