Photo By Tech. Sgt. James Hodgman | Tech. Sgt. Michael Broderick, 379th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, discusses...... read more read more
Subscribe
AL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar - Members of the Qatar Emiri Air Force joined U.S. airmen at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, Nov. 12 for an anti-hijacking and force protection exercise.
The training exercise featured an attempted hijacking of a KC-135 Stratotanker by a mentally unstable individual and required airmen from a myriad of specialties to respond, including security forces, firefighters, air traffic controllers and command post controllers.
Several members of the Qatar Emiri Air Force also responded to assist U.S. airmen to apprehend the suspect and retake the plane.
Within minutes, teams of U.S. and Qatari airmen set up 360-degree security around the aircraft. Moments later, they stormed the aircraft, subdued the suspect and took him into custody.
Capt. Daniel Land, 379th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron operations officer, said he was proud of how his airmen performed during the exercise.
“It went really well. Their approach on the aircraft was one of the best I’ve seen our teams do,” he said.
Land also said that training with members of the Qatar Emiri Air Force was a rewarding experience.
“It’s very unique to train with them, especially with flight line operations,” Land said.
“Having them here gives us an opportunity to discuss tactics and learn what they would do in these situations,” he added.
Exercises like these are vital to ensure mission success, said Capt. Crystal Provuncher, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Inspector General exercise planner.
“Since AUAB is a Qatari airfield, it’s critical we practice emergency response procedures with our host nation to ensure protection of personnel and assets,” Provuncher said.
“While the U.S. Air Force has our own procedures for how we respond to emergency situations, we also must look for opportunities to train and respond with our host Qatari military forces,” said Lt. Col. Trace Steyaert, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Host Nation Coordination Cell deputy director. “Conducting joint exercises directly supports team building and strengthens our relationships with our Qatari partners.”
“U.S. and Qatari forces at AUAB must be ready to respond to any emergency situation,” Steyaert said.
“We must be prepared to respond to any incident that threatens our personnel, equipment or resources,” Steyaert said. “While hijacking incidents are extremely rare on military bases, we still must be prepared to effectively respond to eliminate the threat. By having the Qatari military forces participate alongside us in this exercise, we can train and experience each other’s tactics and procedures and better understand how we will respond together in emergencies like this one.”
| Date Taken: | 11.12.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 11.28.2015 05:00 |
| Story ID: | 183029 |
| Location: | AL UDEID AIR BASE, QA |
| Web Views: | 388 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, USAF, Qatar Emiri Air Force conduct joint exercise, by TSgt James Hodgman, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
