Defenders: One team, one goal

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Erin R. Babis
  • 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England --  The crisp morning air was expected, but not the snow.

Three squadrons milled about, stuffing weighted rucksacks to the brim and double checking that they would stay closed for what was about to come.

Despite the wintry weather, everyone continued their preparations for the monthly 48th Security Forces Squadron ruck march. This month, the 48th SFS was joined by the 48th Communications Squadron and the 100th SFS from Royal Air Force Mildenhall.

Ruck marches are done differently throughout the various military installations. Some are 24 miles long through wilderness and others are shorter, but still effective. Lt. Col. Tara Opielowski, 48th SFS commander, established her squadron's ruck marches as a dual event, bolstering camaraderie amongst her Airmen, as well as physical fitness.

Since the start of the new year, other squadrons have noticed the 48th SFS marching around base with their stuffed rucksacks and have asked to join in. For the last two ruck marches, the 48th CS has shown up in full force.

Opielowski, along with the rest of her squadron, found that there were fringe benefits to spending time with Airmen outside of their career field. During a ruck march in January, she found a 48th CS Airman who told her about radio accessories her Airmen could use to further assist in their police work.

Senior Airman Matthew Dobbins, 48th SFS unit deployment manager, explained that the ruck marches embody the esprit de corps fostered by great leadership within the 48th SFS.

"It came over with our commander," Dobbins noted of the ruck marches. "She's physically fit, and she wants to maintain that fitness across the entirety of security forces. I think we all found that idea to be something that we already wanted, so we implemented it as fast as we could and made it happen."

Dobbins continued to note the excellence of his leadership saying that a standard, which seems to start with Opielowski, is maintained throughout the SFS chain of command.

"It flows down through our chief, our captain and through our [first] shirt," Dobbins said. "They are all there at that same pinnacle, that level of understanding how things are supposed to work, how fluid we're supposed to be, how quickly we can implement a contingency operation based on fighter wing operations or a deployment. They're the glue that keeps us together."

RAF Lakenheath's security forces team is a force that can't be stopped and keeps getting stronger. Opielowski has aspirations to keep inviting more squadrons from across the base to join 48th SFS in their monthly ruck marches, to experience the camaraderie and fitness boost along with them.

"I think the sky's the limit," Opielowski said. "This is my ninth assignment, my second command, and I can honestly say, there's something special about this squadron. I just love that they are so excited to be a part of it."