Airbases: Modern Day Castles

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Kevin Sherrick
  • 436th SFS commander
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  In the Middle Ages, small communities were formed around a central lord or master. Most people lived in an isolated manor consisting of the castle, the church, the village, and surrounding farm land. Castles served as the seats of regional power and provided safety and defense for everyone living in the manor during periods of invasion by marauding armies. 

They were symbolic of the strength and sovereignty of the regional king. It was the home base from which military operations, both offensive and defensive, were conceived, planned and launched. As such, they were the natural focal point for hostile military operations by opposing armies. 

Critical to castle defense was its dedicated garrison, or military force. Garrison members included knights, squires, a porter or gate keeper to tend the main door, guards, watchmen and men-at-arms. Each soldier had his own place in an attack and his own skill to rely upon. The defenders maintained their stronghold through various means. Some were crossbowmen, archers or lancers, while others wielded swords. During an attack, they endeavored to maintain a steady fire of rocks, torches, arrows, oil and boiling water on the attackers at the wall in order to thwart the assault. Occasionally, a more active defense was taken by sending a detachment of troops outside the castle to engage in direct skirmishes with the enemy. Regardless of position, all members of the castle garrison took an active part in its defense. 

Fast forward to modern times - U.S. airbases can be viewed as the castle equivalent of our age. 

Like castles, they are fixed, monolithic symbols of American sovereignty and military power - especially in foreign lands. From airbases, military operations are conceived, planned and launched. In order for air operations to be executed without interruption, airbases must be capable of putting forth a vigorous defense. Our adversaries know they can't compete against Air Force assets in the skies, so a logical alternative is to destroy air and space assets on the ground where their lethality is negated. 

In 1921, Italian Gen. Giulio Douhet observed, "it is easier and more effective to destroy the enemy's aerial power by destroying his nests and eggs on the ground than to hunt his flying birds in the air." His observation is as true today as it was in 1921. 

A number of years ago, former Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Gen. John Jumper said, "If I see a troop walking across tent city and ask what he or she is thinking about, I expect to hear an alert answer about security and force protection. Every airman is a sensor." This imperative, however, is not new. In the wake of British airfield loses on Crete to German forces during World War II, Winston Churchill spoke before the British House of Commons. In his speech he stated, "air bases should be fortresses of fighting airmen..." While stated differently, the point of both men is that every Airman, like every soldier in the castle, has an active role in defending the airbase - from detecting the threat and sounding the alarm to fighting the fight. 

In Vietnam, Tan Son Nhut Air Base was attacked on all sides by 1,500 North Vietnamese infantry and Viet Cong guerillas during the Tet Offensive, Jan. 31, 1968. The goal of the North Vietnamese forces was to capture the 7th Air Force Command Headquarters and Military Assistance Command Vietnam Headquarters located at the base and terminate Tan Son Nhut's use as a staging point for U.S. military operations. The main thrust of the attack came on the western perimeter. The key defensive position in the area, Bunker O51 (Oscar 51), was occupied by a four-man Security Police fire team and a team leader. Four of the five died during the ferocious attack, but before losing their lives, the team was credited with more than 100 enemy kills. Ultimately, the NVA attack was repulsed. 

Today, we have several airbases located throughout Iraq, Afghanistan and other Middle East countries in a non-linear battlefield environment. Serving as command centers, staging areas, and launching points for fighting the war on terrorism in that part of the world, they are natural targets for attack. To date, the enemy has engaged primarily in stand-off attacks against our bases using mortar, rocket and sniper tactics. Time will tell whether or not our enemy is bold enough to mount a Tan Son Nhut-type offensive. 

Our adversaries today are more unpredictable than our former Soviet foes and Air Force assets and people are more at risk to attack. Our enemy is cunning and unrelenting. Like the castle garrison, every Airman is a defender. Every Airman must have a role in generating or sustaining airpower under all conditions. Our mindset and ground defense tactics, techniques and procedures must be aggressive and flexible in order to dominate the battlespace around our airbases. By achieving this objective we bolster our ability to see first, understand first and act first against those threats directed against our 'castle'.