OSI agents support diverse medical exercise in the Congo

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Todd Wivell
  • 17th Air Force Public Affairs
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo --  Starting April 25 and ending May 5 more than 60 U.S. Air Force active duty, National Guard and Reserve members along with 150 members of the Congolese military had been working hand-in-hand in the aeromedical evacuation exercise titled MEDLITE 11 here.

This joint endeavor, located in the unstable country of the Congo, is made possible through numerous months of planning and coordination by the advance party team. This team was comprised of members from the medical career field, the logistics career field, the security forces career field, the public affairs career field and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.

The two OSI agents assigned to support MEDLITE 11 are Special Agents Jess Bidlack and Andrew Schofield. SA Bidlack is assigned to the AFOSI Region 5 OL-A at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and SA Schofield is assigned as the commander for the AFOSI, Detachment 523 at Izmir, Turkey.  Region 5 OL-A is an embedded unit within the 17th Air Force and supports any mission in the AFAFRICA area of responsibility.

"For this particular exercise we coordinated with various entities within the U.S. Embassy, including such offices as the Regional Security Office and the Defense Attaché Office," SA Bidlack said. "During the exercise preparation and execution we provided a 'boots on the ground' approach by directly supporting all facets of it."

Agent Bidlack explained how they had accomplished their mission by conducting and publishing a detailed hotel assessment identifying various threats and vulnerabilities, how they completed and published a comprehensive quick reference guide to for all U.S. participants to reference so they had simple, easy to follow instructions to ensure their safety and how they had conducted route assessments to ensure the safest driving routes were being taken
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Agent Bidlack went on to discuss how MEDLITE 11 was so unique compared to other exercises he had supported in the past.

"First, we are in a very permissive environment. We are supporting an exercise in a country that wants us here for our expertise and experience," SA Bidlack said. "While that makes our job easier, it also complicates things. Some of the most dangerous places, from all threats, are located here in Africa.

"Language barriers and security expectations have been our toughest obstacles to overcome; in a permissive environment we have to walk a tight rope when planning our security posture. It is always difficult to implement security practices when the personnel supporting you have different ideas of what 'proper' security procedures should be and don't speak the same language."

This is where SA Schofield's expertise comes in. As an attendee of Naval post graduate school, he received a masters degree in African Security Studies and at the same time studied at the Defense Language Institute the French language, the spoken language in the Congo.

"My primary role is similar to that of SA Bidlack by providing antiterrorism, force protection and counterintelligence to this exercise," Agent Schofield said. "Additionally I provide that background and expertise through my education and language skills.

"I always like coming to Africa, it provides the opportunity to utilize the training the U.S. Air Force invested in me."

Both agents agreed that they think people underestimate how much planning, preparation, and analysis goes on behind the scenes.

"A lot of time is dedicated to developing relationships, reviewing security related information, gathering data and planning to ensure all bases are covered," SA Bidlack said. "If you wait until execution to plan and prepare, than you will fail.

"Everyone here has been helpful in our mission. The bottom line is we could not successfully carry out our mission without the active support from all personnel involved in the exercise."