Photo By Master Sgt. Chuck Broadway | Special Agent Brad Wilson from the Office of Special Investigations fires his M-4...... read more read more
CAMP VICTORY, Iraq - Each mission in Iraq is unique. Each airman has specific duties they carry out to the best of their ability and they deal with the stresses, rewards and consequences for each of them. No matter the position, each job is important and carries a level of responsibility.
Think of having the responsibility for the safety of the senior Air Force representative in Iraq? Imagine the stresses, tasks and consequences for falling short in such a position.
Air Force Office of Special Investigations Agent Brad Wilson knows exactly what it’s like. He’s the personal security officer for Brig. Gen. Russ Handy, 9th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force-Iraq commander, and is constantly by his side ensuring his safety at all times.
Traveling everywhere his boss goes, he is more than a human shield, he’s played the role of executive officer and aide, and it’s been that way since the beginning of this deployment.
“I wanted to come in and focus on being not only a security advisor, but a valued member of the team,” Agent Wilson said. “I tried to create a position that added value and depth and one that the boss saw as a legitimate asset.”
A valued asset at the 12th Field Investigation Squadron at Buckley Air Force Base, Colo., the Crestview, Fla., native serves as a crime scene investigator, working forensic science for a coverage area spanning eight states.
In his current role however, most of his skills from home would be left behind as he transitioned from someone who’s responsible for solving a crime, to someone who is trusted to keep a crime scene from happening.
Agent Wilson said the job has been more than he ever imagined. In his first assignment as a security officer, he credits Gen. Handy with providing a smooth transition into the role which is quite different from his past six deployments.
“Like my forensics job, this one had its moments of feast or famine as well,” he said. “It met all my expectations from a strictly work-related standpoint, but from a security officer-principal relationship perspective it far exceeded any expectations I had. Gen. Handy has made this job as stress-free and enjoyable as any security officer position possibly could be. He is a fantastic boss and general and I have learned more than I could have imagined.”
Agent Wilson described his mission as protecting Gen. Handy from injury, death, capture or embarrassment. Additionally, he coordinated with agencies in the IJOA to schedule ground, helicopter and fixed wing travel for the general.
“With the beginning of the 9th AETF-I, Gen. Handy and myself were working in uncharted waters,” he said. “There was a lot of trial and error and missteps on my part along the way, but I took it as my personal responsibility to not only be his personal security officer, but an integrated member of the entire command staff as well.”
In addition to being piece of mind for his boss and legitimate protection, Agent Wilson believed he added another tool the general could lean on.
“I would hope my legacy was that I was not the guy that came in and said, ‘Ok, I am just the security advisor and nothing else,’” he said. “If the boss needed something done and it was within my scope to make it happen, then I did it.”
Within his scope, he took it upon himself to increase combat effectiveness by teaching self-defense classes, shooting range drills, complete with scenarios and scripted several security policies to mitigate threats.
Agent Wilson has set a path for himself in the near future as well. Soon, he will enter a Ph.D. program at Louisiana State University and upon graduation, has been selected to become a professor of biology at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
| Date Taken: | 05.23.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 06.05.2011 05:58 |
| Story ID: | 71618 |
| Location: | CAMP VICTORY, IQ |
| Web Views: | 82 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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