Photo By Airman 1st Class Thomas Hansford | U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Carmon Laughard, assigned to the 628th SFS,...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C.- At 5:40 am, a vehicle approaches the back gate. The driver comes to a stop near a small covered checkpoint. From within, a young woman steps out.
“Good morning,” says the driver.
“Good morning,” says the woman, clad in a ballistic kit, armed with a weapon on her hip, a radio slung over her shoulder and atop her head: a perfectly folded beret.
On it, is the emblem of a falcon and below it is written: DEFENSOR FORTIS.
She quickly lays the ID card against a laminated piece of paper, her eyes darting up and down, cross referencing the driver’s name to the names on the list. After a few seconds, she passes the ID back and says, “Thank you.”
The driver turns back to her, “You have a long day ahead of you, don’t you?”
She smiles with acknowledgement, “Yes, sir.”
“You stay safe,” the driver says, as he lets off the brake and the vehicle rolls forward.
“Thank you,” she says. “Have a good day.”
“You too,” she hears as the car moves away and onto the military installation.
This defender is U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Carmon Laughard, an installation entry controller assigned to the 628th Security Forces Squadron at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina. She is the newest defender on her flight, and is also the most recent addition to fully certified security forces personnel.
“I never really wanted to go to college, but if I were to go to college, I thought about criminal justice,” said Laughard. “I always liked law enforcement, and that’s how I found security forces.”
Laughard has spent the initial few months at her first duty station becoming certified in all the of the different posts that security forces personnel must be proficient in. Whether that be manning the gates, on patrol, or searching delivery trucks entering base.
The certification process entails a verbal and written section, where Airmen must absorb information and be able to know what to do in certain situations from memorization.
“I am more hands on,” said Laughard. “That’s one of the reasons I chose security forces. I learn better if you show me, and then I do it. So, the verbal was hard for me, sitting down, getting my mind to focus and just read.”
Laughard had to take notes down, highlight and memorize the information she was required to know.
“After going through that and passing it was like a weight lifted off my shoulders,” she said.
Following that, Airmen are required to undergo a Use of Force scenario in virtual reality, where they are posed with various situations that require them to practice the knowledge they gained in the written portion.
“You have to go through the scenario of shoot, no shoot,” Laughard explained. “Why did you shoot, why did you not shoot?”
Laughard stressed the importance of understanding the ‘why’ behind a person’s actions. The VR scenarios allowed her to practice those skills in a controlled environment.
After that is a live scenario at the gates with evaluators roleplaying situations for the defenders to react to.
“After that you move into the practical,” she explained. “You actually come [to the gate] and they could act weird, and you have to run them through it. You have to run through possible DUI, or if they have drugs in the car. And mine was, he had drugs in the car.”
“When I had to apprehend the woman, she had a weapon on her,” Laughard continued. “So, you have to go through and handcuff them. You have to show them you know how to do everything.”
Now that Laughard is certified, she joins the ranks of all the other defenders who provide safety and security to over 60 Department of Defense and Federal agencies and over 86,500 Airmen, Sailors, Soldiers, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, civilians, dependents and retirees on Joint Base Charleston’s Air Base and Weapons Station.
“It’s okay to be nervous,” Laughard said on the subject of providing assistance and support to new arrivals in the future. “I know what if feels like to be scared to ask questions, so please come to me. Just because you’re an Airman 1st Class or a Senior Airman, it doesn’t mean you don’t know things.”
After becoming certified, and fully competent at the job of being the first line of defense for her fellow Airmen, Laughard feels a tremendous amount of responsibility.
“I definitely feel more and more responsibility now,” she explained. “Caring about people’s lives more than I ever have. Having someone’s life in your hands, so it falls on you to know your stuff and be able to handle situations.”
Laughard expressed the feeling of pride, as well.
“I have a hand in keeping people safe,” Laughard said.
Thousands of U.S. Air Force security forces personnel provide safety and security to bases across the U.S. and in deployed locations across the globe. They are the first line of defense in every location worldwide.
“Sometimes, I don’t feel like I’m making a difference at all,” she said. “But sometimes when people come through, they’re like, ‘Thank you for keeping us safe,’ and it’s like, wow, I do make a difference sometimes.”
| Date Taken: | 06.06.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 07.01.2025 13:20 |
| Story ID: | 502022 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 176 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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