Air Force security-forces director discusses issues

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Danny Monahan
  • Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  The director of Air Force Security Forces visited here from April 30 to May 3 to learn firsthand about the base's security mission.

Brig. Gen. Mary Kay Hertog discussed deployment tempos, training and the future of the career field while here.

"My number-one priority is to provide our security forces some much-needed relief," said General Hertog. "I am talking about the amount of time our cops are home before they have to deploy. Sometimes Airmen are only home four to five months before they have to go back into training for their next deployment. I'd like to see them home for at least 10 months before they redeploy.

"We need to bring more people into the deployment pool and make more people available for deployment, so they can get more time at home," she added.

Before deploying, security-forces Airmen go through a variety of training courses that may differ from base to base.

"We need to standardize our training and our equipment," said the general, who met with security-forces Airmen from both the 5th Bomb Wing and 91st Space Wing. "We have four different regional training centers for security forces, and they all train a little bit differently. I know there are some unique aspects when it comes to training and equipping, but we need to ensure that deployed commanders know security-forces Airmen coming from Minot are trained just like Airmen coming from Langley [AFB, Va.] or Lackland [AFB, Texas]."

With thousands of Airmen deployed fighting the Global War on Terror, it is important to transform security forces more into an expeditionary force, according to General Hertog, who became the security-forces director in June 2006.

"I do not see our expeditionary role changing; if anything I see it growing," she said. "We need more civilians doing more home-station security. We are in the process of building a civilian police force, so we will have anywhere from 500 to 700 civilian police providing security to different bases and commands.

"Eventually we want to do more than that because it gives us the stability to provide home-station security while security-forces Airmen are deployed," she added.

The frequency of deployments has taken a small toll on security-forces retention rates. At 32 percent, it is lower than the overall Air Force retention rate average.

"It's more than sufficient to sustain the force, but I need to be concerned with growing the force," said General Hertog, accompanied on her vist to Minot by Chief Master Sgt. Bruce Broder, the security forces career-field manager. "I need to grow chiefs and colonels, and, with people getting out after their first enlistment, I won't have the opportunity to do that."

While here, General Hertog toured several facilities on base, observed capabilities up close and visited a missile alert facility out in the field. 

Overall, the general is very grateful for all security-forces Airmen who serve.

"I want to meet each Airman just to thank them for the outstanding job they are doing between the 91st and the 5th," she said. "It's a tough mission here, and I am very proud of what they are doing each and every day."