Airman 1st Class Hayden Smith and Senior Airman Kalyn Bake of the 374th Security Forces Squadron take cover during a fire team challenge at Yokota Air Base, Japan, May 17, 2023. (Jeremy Stillwagner/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — The men and women who patrol the flight line and housing areas of this airlift hub in western Tokyo are experiencing a change in their mission, according to a senior enlisted leader.
Air Force security forces, or “defenders,” once concentrated on counterterrorism, but the emphasis today is on threats from state powers.
“When I started in 2003, the mission was counterterrorism,” Master Sgt. Jose Romero, day-shift flight chief for the 374th Security Forces Squadron, said Tuesday during the annual Police Week at Yokota. “Now, the mission is shifting to peer or near-peer threats like Russia and China. The leaders of our career field are changing the way we train and operate to meet that threat.”
Security forces may include infantry skills in addition to the base security and law enforcement training they already receive, Romero said.
Police Week is organized on most Air Force installations worldwide as an avenue to interact with on-base communities and recognize the airmen that spend their days and nights providing security and law enforcement.
Senior Airman Conner Troy, left, of the 374th Security Forces Squadron fights a combative subject during a fire team challenge at Yokota Air Base, Japan, May 17, 2023. (Jeremy Stillwagner/Stars and Stripes)
Airmen from the 374th Security Forces Squadron pose with volunteers and members form the Japanese Air Self Defense Force following memorial ruck march at Yokota Air Base, Japan, May 16, 2023. (Jeremy Stillwagner/Stars and Stripes)
The squadron paid tribute with a 3.1-mile ruck march Tuesday in memory of fallen members of Air Force security forces and exercised their career skills during a fire team challenge Wednesday.
“There have been about 38 defenders that have passed away since Vietnam,” Romero told Stars and Stripes.
Many installations across the Air Force stage a memorial event during the week, and most focus on the 14 defenders that have fallen since 9/11, he said.
During the fire team challenge, teams of four competed at stations that simulated situations security personnel may respond to, including emergency first aid, moving a casualty and advancing cover-to-cover as a team.
The fire team competition and memorial ruck march allow defenders to develop skills they need as their career field begins changing its operating procedure, Romero said.
The Yokota squadron closed out police week on Thursday with a retreat and memorial ceremony where they paid respects to defenders, law enforcement officers and special agents who died in service to their country.
“Every day, you put on your weapons, you put on your gear, and you say, ‘You are safe,’” base commander Col. Andrew Roddan said during the ceremony. “You are the helping hand responding to the community.”
