U.S. Air Force's Role Changing in Iraq

[SWJED]

2 Jan. Associated Press - U.S. Air Force's Role Changing in Iraq .

U.S. Airmen are increasingly on the ground in Iraq, driving in convoys and even working with detainees - a shift in the Air Force's historic mission that military officials call necessary to bolster the strapped Army.

The main aerial hub for the war in Iraq has 1,500 Airmen doing convoy operations in Iraq and 1,000 working with detainees, training Iraqis and performing other activities not usually associated with the Air Force, said Col. Tim Hale, commander of the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing.

"Every one of us has learned that we are in a nontraditional state in our armed forces," he said, standing outside an auditorium at an air base in Kuwait...

[Jedburgh]

U.S. Airmen are increasingly on the ground in Iraq, driving in convoys and even working with detainees - a shift in the Air Force's historic mission that military officials call necessary to bolster the strapped Army.

Here's an article from the Oct 05 MP Bulletin that provides a direct perspective on the topic of the article:

AF Breaks New Ground at Camp Bucca: AF Officers Reflect on New Missions in Iraq

Airmen are breaking new ground at Camp Bucca, Iraq, by performing three of the Army’s traditional missions—detainee operations, patrolling duties, and convoy escort duties. In another first, the airmen are also helping to provide force protection for an Army camp.

In October 2004, I was notified by the director of security forces for Air Combat Command that the Air Force would augment Army forces conducting a detainee operations mission. The unit would be the first to mobilize, train, certify, and deploy as an Air Force expeditionary security forces squadron (ESFS) in support of detention and security operations on the ground in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Together, we revolutionized the area of joint doctrine through superior accomplishments while serving with the Army’s military police.