They ride shotgun on convoys, detonate unexploded ordnance and guard the gates of bases.

They build roads and process troops entering and leaving Iraq.

They do jobs typical of their Air Force duty and jobs once thought far from the flying service’s purview.

The 5,500 Air Force members now serving inside Iraq are happy that they rarely grab the unfortunate headlines of the Army and Marine Corps. And their deployments last a fraction of the time as those of the soldiers and leathernecks.

But they are there, side by side with soldiers and Marines in many cases, from all corners of the Air Force globe.

And their death total of 11, along with 60 wounded by hostile action since the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, seems low compared to their uniformed brethren, but that is often a matter of luck.

Close calls are frequent. Nearly everyone has a story to tell.

Here are a few snapshots of Air Force personnel in Iraq gleaned from telephone interviews arranged by public affairs officers.

Master Sgt. Martin LundRandolph Air Force Base, Texas

Lund provides security for convoys traveling the dangerous roads of Iraq. It is, perhaps, the least Air Force-like job being done by airmen downrange. In fact, those who do it are called airmen-soldiers.

“Convoy training is a small part of our Air Force career training, but not convoy training like this,” said Lund, who is in Mosul. “This is combat convoys, armed and ready. This is the first time the Air Force has ever done anything like this.”

Frequently the convoy commander, Lund said the travel can take hours, even requiring an overnight at the destination. The Iraqi trucks used in the nearly-daily convoys frequently break down, he said, adding to the time on the road.

In the 732nd Expeditionary Mission Support Group, convoys are attacked about every other day, either by mortars, rockets, small-arms fire or roadside bombs, which can be hidden in anything from a dead animal to a water bottle.

“The threat has increased significantly in the past two months,” he said.

“It is an invisible enemy we are up against and very frustrating.”

He has been on 12 convoys that were attacked, but many airmen have seen more than twice that many encounters with the bad boys in Iraq. Lund has seen the vehicle in front of him hit and the vehicle behind him struck.

If the enemy is spotted, the troops engage it. If not, they get out of the area. Most often, the enemy hits and runs.

“We are not involved in standoffs very often, but when we are, we are very successful,” he said. “But our main job as transporters is to deliver our supplies, not [perform as] infantry.

“Many of our folks have had firefights with the enemy and it can get brutal.”

Tech. Sgt. Patrick NeubeckKirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, N.M.

Neubeck, of the 887th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, processes passengers, both those coming and those going. During the time they are in his charge, he is responsible for their safety.

Sometimes the mortar attacks that arrive suddenly at Balad Air Base occur during Neubeck’s processing. His responsibility is to make sure the passengers reach shelter.

“Instead of worrying about yourself, you have to worry about the people around you,” he said.

Neubeck said the best part of his job, which sometimes requires travel to other bases in Iraq, is processing passengers who are leaving Iraq, especially when the customers are soldiers who have endured one year or more in the desert.

“It’s an awesome feeling,” he said of helping the anxious troops start the homeward journey. He tells them, “I don’t want you here as much as you don’t want to be here.”

“I count my blessings that I don’t have to do what they’re doing,” he said. “I have tremendous respect for them.”

Master Sgt. Dennis RossBolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C.

Ross, like Lund, is more soldier than airman in Iraq. Based in Mosul, he also provides security on supply convoys. He attended two weeks of training at Fort Eustis, Va., before deploying.

“The class was a condensed version of the four-month-long class for Army transportation officers,” he said. In Iraq, the training continued, including some live-fire work on the range with machine guns and the Squad Automatic Weapon.

“All the training we received was well outside the scope of any training that I have received in the Air Force,” he said.

A platoon sergeant, Ross said members of his platoon are on the road daily.

“At the beginning of our deployment, it was rare for a convoy to be attacked,” he said. “Lately, our convoys have been getting attacked several times a week.”

Tech. Sgt. Ed CookYokota Air Base, Japan

An Air Force News reporter, Cook travels frequently with Army units to tell their story via American Forces Network-Iraq.

“It’s our job to tell other people’s stories,” said Cook, who lives in the International Zone (formerly known as the Green Zone) of Baghdad.

He has his own story. On July 4, while he was living at Baghdad International Airport a rocket hit 100 feet from his tent, paralyzing one person.

“Before I came here, I was really nervous,” he said. “Surprisingly, I’ve taken it pretty well.”

When he travels on patrols and convoys to do the stories that are his job, he thinks about the danger, he said. He keeps a round in the chamber of his weapon, in case he needs it.

But he also has gained a perspective on the mission he missed while watching the news from a few thousand miles away.

“You get the sense that we really, really have a mission and a purpose,” he said.

Staff Sgt. James CrispEielson Air Force Base, Alaska

Crisp, of the 732nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, is an engineer and he doesn’t care where he is, as long as he is doing engineering work.

Roads and fences, inside the wire and outside the wire. Crisp doesn’t mind the long days or the heat. He doesn’t even mind the potential danger.

“It’s a nuisance to me. What I really want to do is survey,” he said.

A highlight of this deployment for Crisp is the reunion he enjoys occasionally with his brother, Army Sgt. Samuel Crisp, an Army truck driver.

They get together, he said, “whenever he passes through this area.”

Staff Sgt. Daniel McAndrewIncirlik Air Base, Turkey

After the mortar and rocket attacks have subsided at Balad Air Base, McAndrew, of the 332nd Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron, and others sweep the airfield to make sure it is free of unexploded ordnance.

“In this location, that’s one of our highest priorities,” he said.

The airfield management team also makes sure the lights work, the runway is clear of foreign objects and other duties that ensure the aircraft coming and going can do so without problems.

“We’re out there all the time,” said McAndrew.

McAndrew said it is not hard to keep focused on the job. They all know the dangers posed by the unexploded ordnance.

“We could be saving someone’s life,” he said.

Senior Airman Matthew DiazLangley Air Force Base, Va.

Diaz is an avionics technician trained to keep F-15 Eagles in the air. But in Iraq, he keeps watch on Iraqis who work on Tallil Air Base in southern Iraq.

“I’m really out of my job specialty, but I love every minute of it,” Diaz said.

He keeps watch on the local nationals who repair roads, clean latrines, patch holes in the flight line and a variety of other jobs on the base.

It’s all performed under the watchful eye of troops such as Diaz.

“We make sure they don’t gather any intel on us,” he said. They watch to ensure the workers are simply that — workers — and not insurgents in disguise.

“We take it very seriously in force protection,” he said.

Tech. Sgt. David CunninghamSeymour-Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.

As assistant flight chief with the 407th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron at Tallil Air Base, Cunningham is frequently checking on his patrols both inside and outside the wire, making sure they are properly equipped and doing well.

In doing that, he frequently comes in contact with the Bedouin farmers who live in the area.

Their way of life has changed little for centuries, he said. Take away the truck that is sometimes parked near the tent and it could be a walk back in time, he said, adding, “It’s like reading out of the Bible.”

The patrols are necessary despite the relative calm at Tallil, where more than 800 airmen live and work. Cunningham admits the base enjoys less risk than other bases in Iraq.

“We don’t have anything near what’s going on up north,” he said of the frequent attacks on other bases.

Nonetheless, he said he feels a part of something big and important and something that will be remembered.

“I’m definitely proud to be here,” he said. “They’re going to teach about this in history books for years.”

Master Sgt. Kent GrayIncirlik Air Base, Turkey

Gray, a member of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, blows up ordnance in and around Balad Air Base, home to more than 2,000 Air Force members.

“We’ve been the busiest [explosive ordnance detachment] flight in the AOR [area of responsibility],” he said. “It’s a mission that we really haven’t done a whole lot of before.”

His team is called several times a week to take care of a roadside bomb.

On a mission near the Iran border, he and other EOD troops were asked to eliminate piles of explosives — “more than you can imagine.” The piles stretched for miles, probably amounting to 25,000 or 30,000 pounds of explosives.

It is common, too, to have Army EOD folks along on missions. They all attend the same schools and wear the same badge, Gray said.

And in Iraq, there is another common factor.

“We sweat the same,” he said. “We sunburn the same.”

Senior Airman Tyshon WallaceSpangdahlem Air Base, Germany

Wallace, of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, was on duty at the front gate of Balad Air Base standing at the door of the guard shack, when a mortar round landed about 75 yards away.

Shrapnel rattled against the shack, but missed him. He did, however, suffer a loss.

“I lost my bug zapper. That was disappointing,” he said.

But the shrapnel that demolished his zapper could have struck him just as easily.

“If you hear the boom,” he said, “you know you’re alive.”

Second Lt. Adam SterlingWhiteman Air Force Base, Mo.

Sterling trains Air Force members in the fine art of convoy operations, turning them into airmen-soldiers.

“We’re going through basic soldier skills,” he said from Balad Air Base. “Most of these folks have never had exposure to this kind of training. They come in eyes wide.”

Airmen are important members of the many convoys that crisscross the desert of Iraq. To do that, they must be sufficiently trained in any combat skills they might need along the way.

“They’ve never had this kind of mission before,” said Sterling of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing.

He’s been in the Air Force barely one year and is a civil engineer by training.

“It’s definitely career broadening, to say the least,” he said.

The job puts him in close touch with the soldiers who help with the training. That, too, has been a good part of the experience.

“You get rid of the blinders and the tunnel vision,” said Sterling.

“We’re all on the same team here.

“The soldiers are very good people. They’re out here doing one hell of a job, day in and day out.”

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