No matter the size or distance: Yokota defense couriers deliver messages that matter

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Shawn Rhodes
  • 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan --  The outside and inside of the building is bare of signs or unit crests, but make no mistake - the national security of the United States depends on what's inside. When classified military information or cargo needs to be hand-delivered anywhere in the Pacific, the U.S. relies on an elite group of men and women at Yokota - defense couriers.

"I thought it would be handcuffs and briefcases," said Staff Sgt. Kristina Hailey, a defense courier with Defense Courier Station Yokota, "but that's just a small part of our mission."

Before she joined the ranks of defense couriers, she was a dental technician. Her present duties couldn't be more different from her previous ones.

"I manage 200 customer accounts in the Pacific theater. The classified material we carry ranges from envelopes to palettes of cargo, and we move around 6,000 pounds a week," said Hailey.

Defense couriers also understand the material they deliver could mean life or death for fellow service members downrange.

"We are in a zero-error job. If we make a mistake with what we do, the ramifications are global," said Chief Master Sgt. David Eldridge, station chief of the DCS-Yokota hub. "Everything we do has a direct impact on national security. If we mess up, the dominos start falling."

Of course, the U.S. is not the first nation to recognize the value of securely transporting military information. Thousands of years before the British colonies in North America began revolting; ancient cultures understood the value of transporting information quickly.

One of the earliest recorded military couriers was Pheidippides, an Athenian warrior who, after fighting in a battle, ran more than 20 miles to tell his fellow citizens of a victory over the Persian Army in 590 B.C.

The official history of the DCS mentions the predecessors of the modern-day organization contributed to every major U.S. military action and deployment since the nation's inception.

Today, there are 18 DCS locations around the globe that move 3.5 million pounds of highly classified, time-sensitive material each year. However, the one with the largest area of responsibility is the Yokota station.

According to its online history, even the DCS headquarters recognizes that the Pacific region has the most difficult equipment channels to manage, as it also delivers to every naval vessel in its waters. The organization prides itself on the fact that there is literally nowhere on earth the DCS can't reach.

"Our missions can last anywhere from a few hours to five or six days," said Eldridge. "One time we were carrying material that an airframe couldn't support, so we had to drive 15 hours straight to make sure it reached its destination on time. We couldn't leave the material and stop at a hotel, so we had to sleep and drive in shifts."

Even though it is their job to transport it, Eldridge's couriers never know exactly what they're transporting.

"It's better for us not to know," said Hailey.

She and other couriers always operate with a partner for increased security and accountability of their valuable cargo.

According to official DCS policy, the nature of materials it handles is so sensitive that no single person will be allowed the capability or opportunity to have access to it. When one considers the DCS is responsible for transporting the military's most valuable information to include nuclear command material, it makes sense.

For instance, the organization was once tasked with carrying millions of dollars in a single envelope. In the 1990s, DCS couriers transported a $176 million check made out from Saudi Arabia to the U.S. Treasury. That money helped fund the Persian Gulf War.

It takes dedication to be responsible for and transport a package when you don't even know what's in it. That's why DCS ensures it has only the best couriers by requiring a strict selection process from the non-commissioned and commissioned officers of each of the military branches. The three-year accompanied or unaccompanied tour is only for specially selected service members.

"All of our couriers are first-rate; it doesn't matter what branch of service they are from," he said. "When it comes to choosing a courier who isn't, we can't afford it...and neither can our nation."

Yokota's station, like DCS stations around the world, relies on the support of local military units to ensure it can carry out its mission. When Eldridge receives an item that needs to get to the other side of the Pacific in just a few hours, he only has to pick up the phone and he knows he'll get the support he needs.

"The 730th Air Mobility Squadron and the 459th Airlift Squadron make our lives a lot easier," Eldridge said. "I can't thank them enough."

Whether someone is just beginning their time as a courier, like Hailey, or finishing their military career with the special duty assignment, they can be sure they have made a valuable contribution to the defense of their nation.

All the travel, nights spent leaning on palettes of indescribable cargo and double checking manifests, all ensure the military can perform and succeed in its missions.

Eldridge summed up his career in the Air Force and as a courier with five words that describe the experience of all defense couriers currently on the road, in the sky or at sea:

"It's been a wild ride."