FAST keeps Yokota Airmen and aircraft safe

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class John D. Partlow
  • 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan --  What does the Air Force do when planes and aircrew personnel enter restricted or dangerous airfields in the Pacific Region? They send the guys trained to protect them with their lives.

Fly-away security team members, who are embedded in an aircrew, travel with any Yokota aircraft that travels into potentially dangerous areas of the Pacific Region to protect the aircraft and aircrew from potential threats.

"When aircrew members perform their jobs in certain locations, they can't be watching for threats at the same time," said Staff Sgt. Nicholas Jensen, 374th Security Forces Squadron FAST coordinator. "We're here to alleviate that burden and protect multi-million dollar aircraft."

The real work of the FAST members comes when their aircraft lands onto the runway. From there, the team must stay vigilant until the mission is complete.

"We're looking for anything suspicious or out of the ordinary," said Staff Sgt. Ashton Cummings, 374 SFS FAST member. "We also take note of possible breaks in security, people taking pictures of the aircraft, or armed personnel."

While FAST members provide present security, they also contribute towards future missions to Pacific regions.

"We provide trip reports for everywhere we go," said Jensen. "That provides future aircrews security and geographical information about a region they are flying into."

Team members are also team players when it comes to the workload of the aircrew.

"If we stop in a low-threat area, FAST members will usually help out with the unloading of equipment," said Cummings. "It gives a better cohesion with the aircrew if they know we're here to help and not just provide security."

The squadron performs approximately five missions a month, and most missions can last for more than four days.

"We're always running fly-aways at Yokota," said Cummings. "It all depends on the mission requirements for where we're going."

Fly-away security team missions can send Airmen to various regions such as Malaysia, People's Republic of Bangladesh and Papua New Guinea.

Regardless of where they travel to, aircrew members can be sure that the Airmen protecting their backs are trained well to do the job.

"The training is grueling," said Cummings. "We learn many skills to become FAST members to ensure the safety of the aircraft and aircrew."