Joint Turkish and American patrols keep people, assets safe

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jessica Switzer
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey (USAFENS) --  Sports coaches the world over tell their players it takes the entire team to make a plan work. This also holds true here. Without joint American and Turkish patrols, Incirlik wouldn’t be the safe place that it is.

“The only defense is an integrated base defense,” said Maj. Bryan Gillespie, 39th Security Forces Squadron commander. “That’s what the joint patrol provides -- compete integration and coordination between United States and Turkish security forces.”

There are three joint patrols that work to keep Incirlik people safe every day. Two of the teams work all over the base enforcing the law of the land and the third team keeps the flight line secure.

“The guys who are riding around, doing law enforcement are doing everything that a standard all-U.S. Air Force patrol would do,” said Master Sgt. Stacy Pierpoint, 39th SFS NCO in charge of police services. “They are doing traffic enforcements, (driving under the influence) enforcements, domestic violence responses; all that kind of stuff.”

Having joint patrols on the regular law enforcement beat can help a great deal when an event involves a Turkish national.

“We have a Turkish air force member right there to deal with the issue,” he said. “Rather than a patrol rolling up on scene and having to wait for a Turkish patrol to come out, they’re usually right there with us.”

The mission for the patrol on the flight line is different, but it still keeps Turkish and American assets safe.

“They’re more focused toward the protection of the resources on the flight line,” said Sergeant Pierpoint. “It’s a combined effort by both countries to provide protection for all of our resources, including people at Incirlik.”

Joint patrols are not just a way to keep people and property safe, they are a way for members of both security forces to learn about each other.

“Not only do the joint patrols give us an immediate coordinated response capability, these patrols also give our troops the chance to learn how other forces train, structure and operate,” said Major Gillespie. “U.S. forces have operated in joint or multinational patrols for years across the globe and Turkey is no exception. We enjoy a sound relationship with our brothers-in-arms and look forward to increasing our joint operations in every way possible.”

The language barrier is one of the challenges that can spring up when people of different nationalities work together. With the joint 39th SFS and Turkish Air Force patrols this is rarely a problem, said Sergeant Pierpoint.

“Most of the guys that routinely work those positions have a working knowledge of English, so our patrols are able to communicate fairly well,” he said. “If there are issues, we have five interpreters associated with our unit so we always have someone on standby to help sort things out.”

Working together to keep assets and people safe is better than either country working alone, he said.

“Security of this base is not specifically the responsibility of U.S. forces, and it’s not specifically the responsibility of the Turkish forces, it’s combined,” said Sergeant Pierpoint. “We’re in a heightened force protection condition and it’s important we have both countries looking after all of our assets.”