JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. –
Deployed 316th Security Forces Squadron Airmen, assigned to the 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, helped repel an early morning attack May 19 at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.
"We are extremely proud of our deployed Defenders," said Col. H. C. Kit Lambert, 316 SFS commander. "This attack on Bagram underscores the need for every Airman to be an active sensor and force protection asset while deployed even in quiet areas. Every Airman has a role in the defense of an installation. Bagram is by no means a quiet installation with regard to enemy attacks. It is becoming an ever important base in the continuing effort to bring peace and stability to the Afghan nation."
The attack began with indirect fire that caused no significant damage, said Lt. Col. James Lowe, the 455th ESFS commander.
"We started receiving small-arms fire and our perimeter security teams identified movements at several points along the perimeter fence," he said.
The base was attacked from several positions as small teams of enemy combatants began to throw grenades, launch rocket-propelled grenades and continued small-arms fire toward the perimeter, Colonel Lowe said.
"They engaged our towers trying to pin our Airmen down while other individuals tried to come over the barriers."
In the end, the joint defense effort, led by 455th ESFS Airmen, eliminated more than 16 enemy combatants with minimal injuries to U.S. forces, Colonel Lowe said.
As the initial attacks on the perimeter began, many off-duty ESFS members began to gather, said Chief Master Sgt. Allen Graves.
"The response was exceptional. Initially, we pushed around 20 Defenders to areas along the perimeter. All told, we sent more than 90 off-duty Airmen out to support our Airmen in the towers and on patrol."
Colonel Lowe wrote an e-mail to the home station commanders about the actions of their deployed Defenders.
"Your Defenders were not deterred, they did not flinch. They responded quickly and precisely, stepping right into the fray, quickly achieved fire supremacy at each location, killing and/or driving off each hostile act. It is staggering to consider the number of lives they preserved. They were heroic, noble, valiant. They were awesome. I am deeply honored to serve with them, to be counted among them. They are heroes. They absolutely saved the day."
Staff Sgt. Misty D. Slater from the 316th Wing Public Affairs office contributed to this article.