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Air Police

Started by Nikos, November 28, 2015, 11:40:27 PM

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Nikos

I always wondered if the Air Police that guard the Air Force Bases are the same Air Police that guard the nuclear weapons on the Base?  Or, are the nuclear weapons security people a separate security force?

THRAWN

Strup-"Belligerent....at times...."
AFRCC SMC 10-97
NSS ISC 05-00
USAF SOS 2000
USAF ACSC 2011
US NWC 2016
USMC CSCDEP 2023

abdsp51

Yep.  Air Police has not been used in a very long time. 

But yes Security Forces in the USAF perform the Law Enforcement, Force Protection, and Nuclear assessment security for the USAF while the assets are in the USAF inventory.  Nuclear Security outside of the DOD falls on the DOE to perform. 

THRAWN

We used to play with sky cops a lot in NJ. The ABGD guys would come helps us with land nav from time to time...always thought it was one of the most misunderstood career fields.
Strup-"Belligerent....at times...."
AFRCC SMC 10-97
NSS ISC 05-00
USAF SOS 2000
USAF ACSC 2011
US NWC 2016
USMC CSCDEP 2023

kwe1009

Quote from: Nikos on November 28, 2015, 11:40:27 PM
I always wondered if the Air Police that guard the Air Force Bases are the same Air Police that guard the nuclear weapons on the Base?  Or, are the nuclear weapons security people a separate security force?

There is a single Security Forces career field in the Air Force so they guard both.

abdsp51

Quote from: THRAWN on November 29, 2015, 12:39:31 AM
We used to play with sky cops a lot in NJ. The ABGD guys would come helps us with land nav from time to time...always thought it was one of the most misunderstood career fields.

Try being a log planner.  No one outside the field really has clue about what we do.   Anyway yes defenders are considered the red headed step children of the AF.  Very few understand thd field in it's entirety, and very few have the gusto to do he job.

lordmonar

Quote from: abdsp51 on November 29, 2015, 03:24:13 AMand very few have the gusto to do he job.
And most of us are too smart for the job.   >:D
PATRICK M. HARRIS, SMSgt, CAP

abdsp51

Quote from: lordmonar on November 29, 2015, 08:28:57 AM
Quote from: abdsp51 on November 29, 2015, 03:24:13 AMand very few have the gusto to do he job.
And most of us are too smart for the job.   >:D

Some of the smartest folks in the AF I know are cops...

Flying Pig

I did the same job, only in the Marines at Navy installations.  Very cool mission when you think about what you are actually doing.  Good training.  But overall its pretty boring, as it should be.  But boring regardless.....

PHall

Quote from: abdsp51 on November 29, 2015, 12:11:50 PM
Quote from: lordmonar on November 29, 2015, 08:28:57 AM
Quote from: abdsp51 on November 29, 2015, 03:24:13 AMand very few have the gusto to do he job.
And most of us are too smart for the job.   >:D

Some of the smartest folks in the AF I know are cops...

And some of the dumbest people I've met in the Air Force were cops.

It's a big career field that needs lots of bodies and Lackland doesn't do them any favors.

goblin

I got stopped on base a few weeks ago. A1C cop tells me "sir, you need to make sure all 4 wheels come to a stop at a stop sign". I politely asked him how it was possible that one or two wheels could keep spinning. He offered up a confused look and a warning.


abdsp51

Quote from: PHall on November 29, 2015, 03:46:18 PM
Quote from: abdsp51 on November 29, 2015, 12:11:50 PM
Quote from: lordmonar on November 29, 2015, 08:28:57 AM
Quote from: abdsp51 on November 29, 2015, 03:24:13 AMand very few have the gusto to do he job.
And most of us are too smart for the job.   >:D

Some of the smartest folks in the AF I know are cops...

And some of the dumbest people I've met in the Air Force were cops.

It's a big career field that needs lots of bodies and Lackland doesn't do them any favors.

Easy now I can say the same about members who wear bags....


PHall

Quote from: abdsp51 on November 29, 2015, 07:20:05 PM
Quote from: PHall on November 29, 2015, 03:46:18 PM
Quote from: abdsp51 on November 29, 2015, 12:11:50 PM
Quote from: lordmonar on November 29, 2015, 08:28:57 AM
Quote from: abdsp51 on November 29, 2015, 03:24:13 AMand very few have the gusto to do he job.
And most of us are too smart for the job.   >:D

Some of the smartest folks in the AF I know are cops...

And some of the dumbest people I've met in the Air Force were cops.

It's a big career field that needs lots of bodies and Lackland doesn't do them any favors.

Easy now I can say the same about members who wear bags....

You don't want to go there... >:D

abdsp51

Quote from: PHall on November 29, 2015, 08:31:30 PM
Quote from: abdsp51 on November 29, 2015, 07:20:05 PM
Quote from: PHall on November 29, 2015, 03:46:18 PM
Quote from: abdsp51 on November 29, 2015, 12:11:50 PM
Quote from: lordmonar on November 29, 2015, 08:28:57 AM
Quote from: abdsp51 on November 29, 2015, 03:24:13 AMand very few have the gusto to do he job.
And most of us are too smart for the job.   >:D

Some of the smartest folks in the AF I know are cops...

And some of the dumbest people I've met in the Air Force were cops.

It's a big career field that needs lots of bodies and Lackland doesn't do them any favors.

Easy now I can say the same about members who wear bags....

You don't want to go there... >:D

Just saying >:D

kwe1009

Not sure how things are now but for many years it was very difficult to get a guaranteed job as Security Forces because most of the slots whet to people who came in Open General and didn't have very good ASVAB scores.  It was cheaper for the AF to keep those with low ASVABs at Lackland in case they washed out instead of sending them to another base and paying for that travel.  My tech school was at Lackland too and we all knew that we either passed or we became cops.  That was pretty good incentive since I didn't really enjoy the idea of guarding planes or missiles in the snow.

Stonewall

Click here for a video of Security Forces assigned to protect nukes conduct some training.
Serving since 1987.

Flying Pig

Based on what I've read here, I'm surprised you were able to post that without using crayons >:D

Flying Pig

Without getting into to much, although where I was stationed closed several years ago, the amount of fire power and heavy caliber machine guns we had to protect a rather small area was fairly impressive I thought. 

A .12 gauge shotgun with a bayonet is still probably one of the coolest things I've ever carried :)

Stonewall

Yeah, here's a pic of me in Afghanistan not standing at a gate or writing tickets.  In fact, as a Defender, I've never written a ticket.



The cool thing about Security Forces is that you can do everything or you can be absolutely miserable; which 9 times out of 10 is self-inflicted.

I happen to disagree with the career field merging in the 1990s from two separate careers (law enforcement and security).  I think the Air Force did the career field a disservice by expecting the largest enlisted career field in the Air Force to be jacks of all trades.  You can graduate tech school and go to an Air Base Defense Squadron/Group where you do nothing but training for deployments and deploy (lots of schools in this area), or you can get shipped off to a large base and do nothing but law enforcement patrol.  Then there's nuke security, which has a very low likelihood of getting involved in anything unless there is a catastrophic breakdown and the world is under siege, but those nuke guys get A LOT of awesome training and support.

Some parts to the career field some don't realize exist:

- Combat Arms Training and Maintenance (CATM) - firearms instructors and expert amrorers.

- K-9 Handler, but narcotics and bomb dogs.

- Raven and DAGRE - aircraft security for USAF AMC (Raven) or AFSOC (DAGRE) headed to austere and non-secure locations.

- Military Police Investigations

- Special Response Team (SRT) - AF's version of a SWAT team.  I could post some pics and you wouldn't know the difference between them and a civilian SWAT team.

- Standard law enforcement duties - think patrolling, writing tickets, investigating accidents, etc.

- Nuclear security - you secure the nation's most lethal assets, period.  See video I posted a few above this post.

- Contingency Response Group (CRG) - is the AF's "quick response" assets that consists of engineers, commo dudes, and a huge contingent of Security Forces.  These guys are jump qualified, many graduate air assault school, and a number of other non-traditional schools usually exclusive to the Army.  These guys deploy on short-notice missions to anywhere in the world and can secure an air field in advance of larger forces.

Schools USAF Defenders can attend:
- Close Precision Engagement Course (CPEC) - AF's version of sniper school
- Advanced Designated Marksman Course - A little less intense than CPEC and used for LP/OP positions and overwatch.
- Integrated Defense, Command and Control School - big picture C2 course for Defenders
- Combat Leaders Course - an intense 6 week advanced combat tactics course (must be E5/SSgt)
- Airborne School
- Air Assault School
- Ranger School
- Electronic Security Systems
- Protective Services and Anti-Terrorism Driving (think close protection/body guard stuff)
- Military Police Investigations - intense 8 week investigations course
- Tactical Driving Operations Course
- Raven School
- DAGRE School
- K9 Handler
- Combat Arms Instructor
- Security Engineering Course
- Anti-Terrorism Courses

And a countless other joint-service, civilian, federal, and private sector courses.

But those who complain about the career field are usually those that thought they'd be "cops" or failed out of PJ/CCT, and blame everyone but themselves for where they ended up.

Yes, you will likely stand a gate at some point, but if you lack potential, drive, and ambition, your time on a gate will be much longer than it should. 

I have a friend, A TSgt, who just left the Andrews AFB SRT (SWAT) and is now at a USAF Special Operations detachment where part of his pre-deployment train-up included letting his facial hair grow.  What is he doing?  I have no idea, but even the "cool guys' aircraft" need security.
Serving since 1987.