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120 days in the AOR not enough for one 315 AMXS Airman

  • Published
  • By Capt. Bryan Lewis
  • 315 AW Public Affairs
CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, SC --  The month of May at Balad Air Base, Iraq, is filled with continual sandstorms, increased dangers from terrorists due to the coverage the sandstorms provide, and temperatures well above 100 degrees. Spending 120 days there is not often considered a vacation. After all, leaving Charleston in May is as a crazy as seeing a pig wear a wristwatch.

Well, that is exactly what one Airman here chose to do in May 2007 (go to Balad AB, not look for a pig with a wristwatch, of course).

Master Sgt. Chris Selle, an engine propulsion craftsman from the 315th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, volunteered as the superintendent in charge of force protection at the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, Balad AB, Iraq. The deployment, which initially was for 120 days, was extended twice, making Sergeant Selle's time in Iraq exactly one year. The interesting part ... he chose to extend his deployment not once, but twice.

"[Deploying] is just something I needed to do," said Sergeant Selle. "I wanted to do a tour in Iraq for the cause. We were actually making history with the construction at Balad ... making a better place to live for coalition troops there now and in the future."

As the superintendent of force protection there, the sergeant was in charge of more than 140 Airmen from 30 different Air Force Specialty Codes. Their role was to escort third-country and local nationals as they visited and worked on the base's multiple construction sites. These armed Airmen were to ensure the nationals went where they were supposed to and did what they were assigned to, which kept the base safe "inside the wire."

During his year at Balad Sergeant Selle oversaw the improvements and construction of new living quarters, a new chapel, fitness centers and a new base exchange, in addition to extensive work on the runway. Sergeant Selle said that $261 million worth of projects were completed while he was there, all of which were under the security of his force protection airmen.

"This is some of the toughest duty these Airmen will pull in their careers," said Sergeant Selle. "They are dental technicians, administrative people, supply people, mechanics, and we're pulling them out of their comfort zone and putting them in an environment holding a weapon in 110 degree weather."

Sergeant Selle added that force protection Airmen typically pull ten- to 14-hour days at least five days a week, which is not without danger.

"An 82 mm rocket hit one of the construction sites," he said. "Four Airmen were on the site and survived well."

People who work with and know Sergeant Selle here brag about his character as quickly as he brags about the Airmen he led in Balad.

"I was not surprised at the willingness of Master Sgt. Selle to extend his deployment in such an austere environment," said Chief Master Sgt. Georgia Fallaw, 315 AMXS Gold Flight chief. "His reputation from his career here at Charleston was created as being the one to volunteer first when faced with a task causing especially hard work or difficult circumstances. His troops definitely want to work for him. He elicits a confidence that anything is achievable, but with the greatest humility."

Though he voluntarily spent a year in Iraq, Sergeant Selle doesn't flinch when the idea of returning there arises.

"I think I did a lot of good over there, but it was time to come home," Sergeant Selle said after being asked why he didn't extend his deployment longer. "I would go back and do it again. I'd do it for a year, too."