Operation Iraqi Freedom
2003-2011
2632nd Aerospace Expeditionary Transportation Company arrived at Balad in April 2004. The Airmen in these special units manned 5-ton gun trucks mounting .50 caliber machine guns in makeshift armored turrets.
Fallen Defenders Memorial at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq
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On March 19, 2003, the United States opened another front on the war on terrorism when it began an aerial bombardment of Iraq to kick off Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. As many Security Forces members supported the effort by securing air fields around the world, others prepared to enter Iraq itself.
At 2015Z March 26, 2003, Air Force history was made when members of the 86 CRG, including 18 jumpers from the 786 SFS (14 of which were SF. In addition there was 1 medic, 1 intel, 1 Fuels, and 1 CE also in the SFS, as they are a multi-AFSC 16 squadron) under command of Major Erik Rundquist, made the first Air Force combat parachute assault along with about 1,000 paratroopers of the Army‘s 173 Airborne Brigade onto Bashur Airfield in mountainous northern Iraq. This was also the first combat jump made from the C-17 Globemaster transport and was the largest airborne assault since Operation JUST CAUSE in 1989. The mission, according to 86 CRG Commander Colonel Steven Weart (who jumped into Bashur with his troops) was to support the 173 Airborne Brigade and its buildup of combat power. As the 86 CRG prepared the 7,000-foot runway to receive the first transport aircraft, the group's Security Forces controlled the runway and ramp, while 173rd Airborne soldiers and Iraqi Kurd Peshmurga fighters protected the airfield's perimeter. By April 9th the approximately 200 Airmen stationed at Bashur were handling around 1 million pounds of cargo a day. The same day, a 13-person team from the Arizona Air National Guard‘s 161 SFS, assigned to the 305th Tanker Airlift Control Element from McGuire AFB, NJ, moved onto the captured Iraqi Tallil AB near the city of Al Nasiriyah, claiming the honor of being the first SF team in Iraq and for Staff Sergeant Dena Brackin the title of first female Security Forces member in the war zone. Defenders from the 822 SFS, as part of the 407 ESFS, soon joined them as part of a convoy from Kuwait. Assisting its sister services would require some of the most fundamental changes in the Air Force in general and the Security Forces in particular since the creation of the Air Force in 1947. Many of these changes were brought about by new, non-traditional missions taken on by the Air Force to assist the Army and Marines. One of these new tasks was convoy escort duty. The major aerial port for Iraq was Balad Air Base, 40 miles north of Baghdad. From Balad, supplies were distributed to the field by air or military and civilian truck convoys under protection of the Army or Marines. Transport of supplies and personnel in theater was provided by the C-130 Hercules. Expeditionary Security Forces squadrons throughout the theater of operations formed teams of two to four person volunteers for Fly Away Security Teams (FAST) to provide protection for the aircraft and crew. Between May and June 2004, the 386 ESFS FAST teams, from Ali Al Salem Kuwait, flew on 115 combat missions to 12 different countries; escorting more than 5,000 passengers. In 2004, the Army and Marines requested help from the Air Force to conduct ground convoy security. One of the first in-lieu of taskings, convoy escort duty, was a new mission for the Air Force and gave rise to a new type of organization; the Aerospace Expeditionary Force Transportation Company. As a company in the Army model rather than a squadron, these organization‘s subunits were designated platoons rather than flights and were commanded by senior non-commissioned officers. After training at Army bases stateside, the 2632nd Aerospace Expeditionary Transportation Company arrived at Balad in April 2004. The Airmen in these special units manned 5-ton gun trucks mounting .50 caliber machine guns in makeshift armored turrets. To prepare them for this new duty, Security Forces Airmen developed curriculum and trained Airmen at the Air Force‘s Basic Combat Convoy Course at Camp Bullis. The training included weapons use, tactics, maneuvers, and small-unit and leadership skills to prepare them for convoy escort duties. Security Forces also served as escorts themselves. The duty was dangerous; convoys were and ripe targets for terrorist attacks and improvised explosive devices and they took a deadly toll. On January 1, 2005, Task Force 1041, built around a squadron of the 820 SFG, launched Operation Desert Safe Side, a 60-day operation to kill or capture insurgents that had bombarded the base at Balad with mortars, some with up to a 6.5 kilometer range.TF 1041 implemented the aggressive base defense doctrine the Vietnam era 1041 SPS was originally designed for, but was unable to execute. TF 1041‘s area of operation was one of the region‘s most violent areas and encompassed a rectangle 10 kilometers wide and 6 kilometers deep stretching from the Balad perimeter to the Tigris River. In 60 days, TF 1041 captured 17 high value targets (high ranking insurgents and terrorists), eight major weapons caches, 98 other insurgents and terrorists, and reduced enemy attacks to near zero. Text from AFMAN31-201V1 9 AUGUST 2010 |
Iraqi Freedom Units and Teams
For a more detailed description of Operation Iraqi Freedom units go here
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532nd ESFS Balad Iraq
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Air Force Security Forces Det 7 732nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron Police Transition Team in Baghdad, Iraq.
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First Lieutenant Joseph Helton, Jr.
First Lieutenant Joseph Helton, Jr. deployed as a Flight Commander of a Police Transition Team in the southern region of Baghdad. Lieutenant Helton’s team of 51 Security Forces Defenders was responsible for training and developing thousands of Iraqi policemen assigned to 46 Iraqi police stations over 1,000 square miles. Lieutenant Helton’s actions during his extended deployment in Iraq epitomize the Air Force core value of service before self.
After completing an eight-month stint as Det 3 Police Transition Team Flight Commander, he volunteered to remain in Iraq as Det 2 Police Transition Team Flight Commander. For Lieutenant Helton, this decision was uncomplicated; Det 2 needed an officer to fill a critical vacancy and he was available. There was no doubt that Lieutenant Helton would volunteer. Throughout his deployment, Lieutenant Helton led the training and coaching of over 3,380 Iraqi Policemen, located key witnesses against detainees in Camp Bucca, served warrants on high-value insurgents, and led drawdown operations in the dangerous southern region.
On September 8, 2009, while leading a squad on combat operations to assist with drawdown operations in the Mahmudiyah District of Baghdad, Lieutenant Helton’s vehicle was struck by an explosively formed penetrator—the deadliest improvised explosive device known. His team reacted with the poise and professionalism that he had instilled in them, but despite their Herculean efforts, Lieutenant Helton’s injuries proved fatal. For his heroism in Iraq, First Lieutenant Joseph Helton, Jr. was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor and the Purple Heart Medal.
After completing an eight-month stint as Det 3 Police Transition Team Flight Commander, he volunteered to remain in Iraq as Det 2 Police Transition Team Flight Commander. For Lieutenant Helton, this decision was uncomplicated; Det 2 needed an officer to fill a critical vacancy and he was available. There was no doubt that Lieutenant Helton would volunteer. Throughout his deployment, Lieutenant Helton led the training and coaching of over 3,380 Iraqi Policemen, located key witnesses against detainees in Camp Bucca, served warrants on high-value insurgents, and led drawdown operations in the dangerous southern region.
On September 8, 2009, while leading a squad on combat operations to assist with drawdown operations in the Mahmudiyah District of Baghdad, Lieutenant Helton’s vehicle was struck by an explosively formed penetrator—the deadliest improvised explosive device known. His team reacted with the poise and professionalism that he had instilled in them, but despite their Herculean efforts, Lieutenant Helton’s injuries proved fatal. For his heroism in Iraq, First Lieutenant Joseph Helton, Jr. was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor and the Purple Heart Medal.
taff Sergeant Lealofi N. Lealofi.
February 23rd started out like any other day in 2006 for Staff Sergeant Lealofi N. Lealofi. The Vandenberg Defender was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq, as a security forces member. That particular morning he was performing a typical dismounted community policing patrol in the Al Qadesiyah Apartment Complex. The locals knew the area as the “215 Apartments” because of the tight living quarters and dense population. That all changed when an excited Iraqi teenager ran up to Sergeant Lealofi and informed him there was a fire in one of the buildings in the 10,000- resident apartment complex.
Realizing the building was not equipped with smoke detectors or any type of fire-suppression equipment, Sergeant Lealofi, along with his security forces partner, reacted immediately. As all three ran to the building indicated by the teenager, Sergeant Lealofi asked the young man for his help to serve as their interpreter to the building occupants. The young man accepted. From the outside, they could see the flames and columns of black smoke spewing from the windows on the second floor. Sergeant Lealofi called for the fire department, but knew he had to do something fast. Without hesitation, Sergeant Lealofi, his partner, and the interpreter each disregarded their personal safety and charged into the eight-story, smoke-filled building in an attempt to rescue residents and locate the source of the fire. By the time they reached the third floor, the thick smoke completely obscured their visibility and engulfed them.
In a display of exemplary leadership under pressure, Sergeant Lealofi instructed his security forces partner to return to the first two floors and begin evacuating those tenants. He and the interpreter remained behind and began opening windows, trying to ventilate the stairwell. The smoke refused to yield, and Sergeant Lealofi soon realized that his attempts were futile. With the thick smoke threatening his very life, he knew that he and his interpreter would never reach the third floor. In seconds, he had to come up with a new plan. He realized the fire seemed to be contained on the second floor. The dangerous smoke was rapidly spreading, but the fire was not.
In a bold move, he returned to the ground level and began shouting orders to the upper-floor Iraqi residents. He knew the fire wouldn’t reach them but they were actually in more danger as they tried to exit the building. He instructed the residents on the upper floors to close their doors to minimize the smoke’s advance and open their windows. He kept the residents in place and as calm as possible until fire and rescue teams arrived. Once the fire department arrived and gained control over the blaze, Sergeant Lealofi and his partner re-entered the still-smoldering building and safely evacuated the remaining residents from the upper floors. Sergeant Lealofi’s courageous act helped save the lives of 50 Iraqi civilians and prevented hundreds more from suffering serious smoke inhalation injuries.
Profiles in Courage V1
Realizing the building was not equipped with smoke detectors or any type of fire-suppression equipment, Sergeant Lealofi, along with his security forces partner, reacted immediately. As all three ran to the building indicated by the teenager, Sergeant Lealofi asked the young man for his help to serve as their interpreter to the building occupants. The young man accepted. From the outside, they could see the flames and columns of black smoke spewing from the windows on the second floor. Sergeant Lealofi called for the fire department, but knew he had to do something fast. Without hesitation, Sergeant Lealofi, his partner, and the interpreter each disregarded their personal safety and charged into the eight-story, smoke-filled building in an attempt to rescue residents and locate the source of the fire. By the time they reached the third floor, the thick smoke completely obscured their visibility and engulfed them.
In a display of exemplary leadership under pressure, Sergeant Lealofi instructed his security forces partner to return to the first two floors and begin evacuating those tenants. He and the interpreter remained behind and began opening windows, trying to ventilate the stairwell. The smoke refused to yield, and Sergeant Lealofi soon realized that his attempts were futile. With the thick smoke threatening his very life, he knew that he and his interpreter would never reach the third floor. In seconds, he had to come up with a new plan. He realized the fire seemed to be contained on the second floor. The dangerous smoke was rapidly spreading, but the fire was not.
In a bold move, he returned to the ground level and began shouting orders to the upper-floor Iraqi residents. He knew the fire wouldn’t reach them but they were actually in more danger as they tried to exit the building. He instructed the residents on the upper floors to close their doors to minimize the smoke’s advance and open their windows. He kept the residents in place and as calm as possible until fire and rescue teams arrived. Once the fire department arrived and gained control over the blaze, Sergeant Lealofi and his partner re-entered the still-smoldering building and safely evacuated the remaining residents from the upper floors. Sergeant Lealofi’s courageous act helped save the lives of 50 Iraqi civilians and prevented hundreds more from suffering serious smoke inhalation injuries.
Profiles in Courage V1
Personal Memories
I was assigned to Spangdahlem Air Base when myself and two other handlers (Chris Falvey was one, I cant remember the other) were tasked to deploy to Aviano. This was about the 24th of Mar 2003, we packed as if we were going to be staying in Aviano, you can only imagine our surprise as we found out we were going to be assigned to the US Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade along with the 786th CRG. The CRG did not have their own kennels at the time.
I clearly remember being in the base theater along with the "Sky Soldiers" as we were given the details of the upcoming invasion of Iraq. I remember watching the soldier load up onto the flight line full of c17s. There were a few soldiers left behind and some other airmen and vehicles and equipment. We were to load up the next day after the airfield was secured in Bashar, Iraq. We were only allowed on A Bag, with ammo, MREs , uniforms and a pop up tent. No dog kennel. During the first 40 or so days of the war I lived in that pop up tent with Alan. I had to do everything with him tied to me, from bathing with water bottles and going to the bathroom, I got to know Alan very well.
Our job initially entailed LP-OP duties, but as the soldiers moved south, we were used to help clear routes and buildings. Driving into Kirkuk was probably the most eerily feeling, the base was left abandoned with only a few stragglers who were detained rather quickly. We secured Kirkuk which allowed us even more equipment.
Our K9 duties changed from snap TCPs to sentry duties. It was during one of my nights pulling sentry during when Alan detected intruders who had cut out C wire. Alan and I were able to detect and detain 3 armed Iraqi soldiers attempting to enter the base.
David Colon
I clearly remember being in the base theater along with the "Sky Soldiers" as we were given the details of the upcoming invasion of Iraq. I remember watching the soldier load up onto the flight line full of c17s. There were a few soldiers left behind and some other airmen and vehicles and equipment. We were to load up the next day after the airfield was secured in Bashar, Iraq. We were only allowed on A Bag, with ammo, MREs , uniforms and a pop up tent. No dog kennel. During the first 40 or so days of the war I lived in that pop up tent with Alan. I had to do everything with him tied to me, from bathing with water bottles and going to the bathroom, I got to know Alan very well.
Our job initially entailed LP-OP duties, but as the soldiers moved south, we were used to help clear routes and buildings. Driving into Kirkuk was probably the most eerily feeling, the base was left abandoned with only a few stragglers who were detained rather quickly. We secured Kirkuk which allowed us even more equipment.
Our K9 duties changed from snap TCPs to sentry duties. It was during one of my nights pulling sentry during when Alan detected intruders who had cut out C wire. Alan and I were able to detect and detain 3 armed Iraqi soldiers attempting to enter the base.
David Colon
