AL ASAD, Iraq -- The Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting division of Marine Wing Support Squadron 272 passed their responsibility as firefighters for Al Asad, Iraq’s flightlines, Feb. 1, during a Transfer of Authority Ceremony at Al Asad’s air traffic control tower.
The handover is part of a larger plan to turn all firefighting responsibilities at large Marine Corps air bases in Iraq to Wackenhut Services Inc., a subcontractor of Kellogg, Brown and Root. The move is meant to free trained firefighting Marines and their equipment for other missions.
“This allows me to have more resources ready for another mission,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Saulo Ugarte, the officer-in-charge for Marine Wing Support Squadron 272’s expeditionary airfield and aircraft rescue and firefighting sections. “Now, I can take my Marines and equipment somewhere else to prepare for other tasks.”
Wackenhut Services Inc., had already taken control of most firefighting services at Al Asad and the other large Marine air base in Al Taqaddum, Iraq. Their new responsibility makes the group the response team in case of an emergency caused by air operations. Marines will still provide firefighting services if an ARFF team is needed to respond to an incident outside the confines of the base.
“We’re here, standing by to support the aircraft,” said Joe Morris, a combat firefighter with WSI, and a former Marine. “The Marines have other missions, and we’re freeing them up to go do other things.”
The civilian employees of WSI were enthusiastic about their new responsibilities, said Morris. Most have prior service as military firefighters, and Morris expected his fellow employees would assume their new duties easily.
“There are a lot of motivated people that work for us,” said Guillermo Torres-Luna, the assistant fire chief at Al Asad. “It’s good to do something new out here. We’ve been pretty eager to get out there and do a good job.”
The Marines and firefighters of WSI spent two weeks of transition training. The Marines used the experience to prepare their civilian counterparts for some of the situations they may face now that the transfer is complete.
“We were deeply appreciative of the help we received from our fellow firefighters,” said Torres-Luna. “We worked with the Marines to learn emergency procedures. Those two weeks were pretty intensive, and we’re definitely knowledgeable about what’s going on.”
Torres-Luna was very adamant that he and his crew were looking forward to their work. Chief Warrant Officer 4 Roger E. Bond, the EAF and ARFF officer for the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing(Forward), said that dedication is one of the reasons he’s so confident the transition will be beneficial to Marines and their mission.
“The key to this agreement is that we still get quality service to the aviation community,” said Bond, a native of Galion, Ohio. “The personnel we’ve hired are patriotic, excited and fully trained. They have a lot of experience, and they’re here to help fight the War on Terrorism. They’re a different breed of people and I’m proud to work with them.”
Bond said that firefighting Marines are in high demand because of operations around the world. The transition frees 68 such Marines and a large amount of equipment.
“That (military occupational specialty) has been stretched really thin, so this is really helpful,” he said. “These Marines are critical to what we’re doing, and now we have more assets to be used for other missions.”
The ceremonial transfer ended when Ugarte passed the symbolic fireman’s ax to Torres-Luna and his chief, Willie Parker. Morris said the ceremony reminded him and his colleagues that they’re helping the war, and that fact made him proud.
“This is a big challenge,” said Torres-Luna. “But, we have experienced leadership and we’re looking forward to getting things going.”