‘We Always Got the Job Done’: Command bids farewell to highly decorated security forces squadron

  • Published
  • By Capt. Candice Allen
  • 301st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, Texas --  After almost 25 years of providing immediate training to Airmen for contingency operations worldwide, the 610th Security Forces Squadron has closed its doors.

The squadron, located at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, Texas, was officially inactivated Oct. 6. At the time of its inception -- Nov. 1, 1990 -- at Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas, it was known as the Air Force Reserve Ground Combat Readiness Center.

Lt. Col. Keith Goodenough, squadron commander, said that simply put, the squadron had two goals: provide safe, quality training with a positive attitude and deploy combat-ready Airmen.

"We always got the job done. ... no matter what," Goodenough said. "We earned a lot of credit for the [Air Force Reserve] command over the years. This squadron has a remarkable history of accomplishments and training completed for forces everywhere that is unmatched by any other unit."

"We are probably the most decorated security forces unit within the command," he said.

Originally reporting to 10th Air Force, the unit served as the command's most diverse security forces unit. It consisted of Airmen with 10 different Air Force specialty codes, which included services, medics, combat arms personnel and heavy weapons. Five years after its activation, the center was re-designated the 610th SFS. In July 1996, the 610th moved to NAS Fort Worth. The unit continued to grow into one of the largest security forces squadrons in the command, with an assortment of unit type codes from those typically found at other security forces units in the command.

"As I remember, it was smaller in [the] number of bodies we had, with almost nobody below the rank of staff sergeant," said Master Sgt. James Hettinger, former 610th SFS resource advisor who was assigned to the squadron for 12 years. "The unit was almost entirely made up of experienced security forces members."

In the end, the unit maintained 64 UTCs and 180 authorizations, to include 135 traditional reserve positions.

During the squadron's 25-year history, instructors were able to train 33,324 people. And, that's only the recorded numbers.

To reach those numbers, the 610th designed a mobile training team concept that sent instructors to various Air Force Reserve locations to teach and certify other defenders on the road. Most recently, 610th SFS instructors taught nine courses: Patriot Defender, Combat Skills Orientation, Active Shooter Response Training, Combat Arms Management, M240B Crew Served Qualification, M249 Automatic Rifle Qualification, Tactical Automated Security System, Radio, Telephone Operator and the popular Antiterrorism Officer Level II course.

On average, 610th SFS defenders conducted 45-60 classes every year for all branches of service.

"The knowledge of the instructors impressed me. They knew their audience and taught to the level of those who knew the material and those who did not. It was perfect," said Navy Chief Warrant Officer Dexter Allen, a security and antiterrorism officer who attended the ATO Level II course in October 2014.

"That class helped me to look at terrorism differently than I previously knew and understood," Allen said. "I use the same expressions and the passion the instructors had in the courses I teach now."

In fiscal year 2015, the unit conducted 53 classes across nine programs before completing its final course this past summer.

On Aug. 29, two instructors - Floyd Fontenot and 2nd Lt. Robert Reader - taught the squadron's last course, Antiterrorism Officer Level II, at the 910th Airlift Wing, Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Ohio.

"Lieutenant Reader and I took a different approach to the class since the class size was small," said Fontenot, who came to the unit in 1996 and taught 130 ATO classes. "It was more of a hands-on 'walk through, talk through' approach, teaching the students through each aspect of their duties by utilizing the Management Internal Control Toolset ATO as a teaching aid. One can say it was more of a personal approach to instructing."

In addition to conducting courses throughout the United States, 610th members trained internationally over the years, traveling to Europe as well as Central and South America conducting joint training.

"That part of it was always fun," Goodenough said. "About every other year, we trained with our counterparts of Great Britain's Royal Air Force Regiment. Those were some great opportunities and the best annual tour events."

Goodenough first stepped through the squadron's doors in 1995 as an enlisted Airman and became an officer in the unit through the Deserving Airman Commissioning Program two years later. He then returned for a second tour from 2007 to 2010, serving as the 610th operations officer. In 2012, he came back for a third tour, this time as squadron commander.

"Coming back has been the highlight of my career," Goodenough said. "The moment I became an officer, it was a career goal of mine to come back here as the commander.

"Unfortunately in this instance, the realization of that career goal eventually meant I was the guy charged with the squadron's inactivation. ... a real bummer, but I can't think of anyone more appropriate for the task," he said.

For the deployment aspect of its mission, the 610th SFS had at least one Airman with boots on the ground supporting a contingency, exercise or deployment from Oct. 1, 1999, to Oct. 26, 2012.

"Two of the fondest memories I have of the 610th was deploying to Kirkuk Air Base in Iraq with the unit and being a part of the instructor cadre at the Patriot Defender program," Hettinger said. "Teaching and interacting with all the defenders who came through the program was very rewarding."

Despite being busy meeting all its training and deployment requirements, the unit was able to find the time to build strong family ties through annual Family Days. These annual events brought members and their families together to enjoy each other's company, and, in true security forces fashion, the unit typically added a physical element to the festivities. Divided into four-person teams, members competed in a variety of events.

"The last three years, we have been incorporating a challenge into our Family Day as a fun event to test the physical abilities and teamwork of our defenders," Hettinger said.

The 610th conducted its last family day in July, inviting both current and former members to the event.

"The 610th SFS Airmen, both former and current, deserve pomp and circumstance for all they did to make the squadron great," Goodenough said.

In February 2015, the Air Force Reserve announced a number of force structure changes, which included inactivation of the 610th. The Desert Defender Regional Training Center picked up the training portion of the squadron's mission at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas.