Photo By Master Sgt. Courtney Richardson | Tech. Sgt. James Seidel, left, 386th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, conducts...... read more read more
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By Staff Sgt. Vincent Borden
386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
The augmented team had made progress. Standing in the back of a C-130 Hercules, dressed in their pocketed vests and body armor with M-4s slung across their shoulders, five 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Security Forces members stood listening to the instruction on posting positions and aircraft exits, sweat running profusely from under their helmets and down their necks.
Today they would practice the real thing. Real movements and procedures required of Fly Away Security Team members on deployments to remote airfields throughout the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. Tomorrow they could be performing it in places where the stakes could be much higher.
Tech. Sgt. James Seidel stood in the center of them all, animatedly pointing and directing. As the FAST coordinator, he is in charge of this training session, designed to give Security Forces members a closer look at some of their responsibilities as FAST members. Responsibilities he feels are essential to the flying mission of the 386th AEW.
"Without FAST members, the planes would have to go to different airfields instead of the ones we go into now," Sergeant Seidel said. He is deployed from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.
Limited airfield choices would hamper the mission, the sergeant said.
So he booms commands to the augmentees over the sound of the intervalic gusts of wind to practice positioning. Sergeant Seidel provides details of why the team leader needs to be the first to exit, and the last to load once the aircraft readies for takeoff. He explains why the teams position the way they do.
He also has his FAST members demonstrate how to provide optimal security with two or three people, noting the places they need to stand around the aircraft to achieve 360 degree sight. The mission of the 386th AEW, that of combat airlift in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, is an important one. One worthy of the best protection.
Inadequate security could mean the difference between humanitarian aid not arriving in hot spots in the Horn of Africa. It could mean that essential supplies to continue the War on Terror would never reach their destination. They would never make it to help fuel the fight.
As Security Forces members, the augmentees seem to understand the importance of the training.
"I enjoyed it," said Senior Master Sgt. Steven Teague, 386th AEW Security Forces operations superintendent deployed from Hickam AFB, Hawaii. "It was enlightening. The FAST provides a service that allows our aircraft to land at austere locations throughout the AOR. As Security Forces, we're glad to get any type of training that will help out the mission, and it was great to have the opportunity to train with the team and get a first hand perspective of their operations."
FAST members have completed 61 missions in various countries in the last two months. The success of the program partially depends on the enthusiasm of volunteers like Sergeant Teague, who fill in for FAST members when manning gaps allow.
""You want volunteers for this," said Sergeant Seidel, a native of Coshocton, Ohio. "Because of how often they have to go out and how long they have to work, you need volunteers that want to do it, as opposed to people who are told to."
FAST member duties are similar to what Phoenix Ravens, the specially trained Security Forces Airmen who provide aircraft security for aircraft transiting into high threat areas, perform daily.
Many of the ideas used for FAST procedures are borrowed from the Air Mobility Warfare Center's 18-day Phoenix Raven course at Fort Dix, N.J.
"Basically the FAST teams do the same things as Ravens, down to aspects of security," said Staff Sgt. Brian Boyd, a Raven from the 386th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron. "Raven training just goes a little more in depth with site survey and things like that, because we deal more with the perimeter."
The effect of the similarities between the two programs, however, is a testament to the effectiveness of the training methods both programs employ. In the business of flying into remote, hostile regions, often with precious cargo, foreign nationals and distinguished visitors on board, modeling security procedures off one of the most effective programs in the military is a ticket on the fast track of success.
The 386th AEW FAST program is the largest of four in the region. It consists of 12 core members, excluding Security Forces augmentees.
| Date Taken: | 08.29.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 08.29.2008 09:54 |
| Story ID: | 23006 |
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| Web Views: | 263 |
| Downloads: | 150 |
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