An Air Force army of one

  • Published
  • By Maj. David Kurle
  • 442nd Fighter Wing
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  If an Airman deploys to Operation Iraqi Freedom and is suddenly conducting operations that are traditionally done by the Army, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. In fact, reflecting its new mission statement the Air Force has stood up a very unique organization, known as an expeditionary mission support group, in Iraq to manage these new ground missions for the Air Force. 

The 442nd Fighter Wing’s own Col. Patrick Bielby served as the deputy commander of the 732nd Expeditionary Mission Support Group for 130 days, operating out of Balad Air Base and traveling extensively throughout the area of responsibility, leading and managing more than 1,200 civil engineers, security forces, logistics readiness and REDHORSE Airmen.
 
He shared his deployment experiences with a joint session of the Reserve Officers Association and the Reserve Enlisted Association during the Dec. 11 unit training assembly. 

“Basically these Air Force troops were on the ground working for the Army or the Marines for the duration of their (Aerospace Expeditionary Force) rotations,” said Colonel Bielby, who is the commander of the 442nd Mission Support Group when he is not deployed. 

During his deployment, Colonel Bielby’s group was the headquarters unit for several Air Force detachments throughout Iraq conducting law enforcement, engineering, construction and convoy missions in support of U.S. efforts to ensure a positive future in Iraq.
 
Some of the Airmen working in the group were from logistics readiness squadrons and were actually organized into companies working for the U.S. Army performing convoy operations, he said. 

“Every time the Army has a unique requirement, they call on us (the Air Force) because we’re nimble and we’re flexible,” Colonel Bielby said. 

The biggest challenge was keeping track of all the Airmen assigned to the group, he said. “We needed to know where all 1,200-plus people were at all times.” 

When he wasn’t traveling throughout the AOR, Colonel Bielby lived in a trailer at Ballad AB, sharing a bedroom with another Air Force officer, and utilizing the rare moments of free time by attending special events, such as Tops in Blue concerts; watching movies; attending church services or working out at the fitness center. 

He also mentioned that he read a lot of books while waiting for transportation as he traveled around Iraq. 

Besides the 120-degree heat, other discomforts included dust blown around by the wind and the everpresent smoke created by burning trash, according to Colonel Bielby. 

“The smoke never stopped and you’re always breathing it,” he said. 

There was also the reminder that Airmen at Balad were in a shooting war in the form of mortar and rocket attacks at the base. 

“There were attacks at Balad, I got a certificate when I left that said there were 87 attacks while I was there,” Colonel Bielby said. “Ninety-nine percent of the time it was nothing, but you still had to go through ‘alarm red’ and seek cover.” 

One aspect of Iraq that not a lot of people realize is just how much of the country is covered with vegetation, according to Colonel Bielby. 

“A lot of people think the country is all desert,” he said. “But, I was surprised at how green it was and how much agriculture there was.” 

The best part of his deployment was that while one Army member was injured severely in an explosion, not one member of the 1,200-member of the 732nd EMSG lost their lives during his tenure as the group’s deputy commander.