Instructor awarded Bronze Star

  • Published
  • By Lois Walsh
  • 96th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Master Sgt. Manuel Camacho, 96th Ground Combat Training Squadron, put his instructor skills to good use and earned a Bronze Star for his efforts. 

Col. Eric Pohland, 96th Air Base Wing commander, presented the Bronze Star to Sergeant Camacho at a commander's call March 12. He was singled out for exceptionally meritorious achievement as the combat aviation advisory security forces and senior air base defense advisor while deployed to Baghdad, Iraq. 

During his year-long deployment, Sergeant Camacho pulled from his 21 years experience in security forces to guide the commander of the base Iraqi Security Forces unit on everything from perimeter security and escort operations to prisoner transfer. These were new concepts to the Iraqi Air Force, and he trained a total of 105 officers and enlisted personnel in these tactics. 

"I was able to take certain skill sets from my instructor job here," he said. "I tried to help them understand the importance of their piece of the pie to the overall larger picture of their Air Force and how it should operate." 

Sergeant Camacho said the officers understood the need for higher security levels; however, the sergeant said the enlisted personnel were not educated like the Airman in the United States Air Force although "they had some Army basic infantryman skill sets." 

As the sole advisor, Sergeant Camacho set up classes, sometimes spending 15 hours a day ensuring procedures were learned and followed. 

"To me it would seem rather simple but again, they didn't understand the big picture."
Besides classroom training, Sergeant Camacho led escort missions facilitating the mass movement of 600 Iraqi Army personnel from exterior entry control points to the air base. He supervised 72 distinguished visitor movements for top Iraqi government officials and led the Iraqi Security Forces Squadron when they conducted their first combat airlift movement of eight high-value prisoners.
 
Sergeant Camacho readily admits that it was a long year, but it was time well spent to teach the Iraqi forces to stand on their own. 

"They were pretty self sufficient and were able to train their own people and do their own scheduling," the sergeant said. "Their challenge is to build a rapport with the coalition so the coalition can trust them and will turn duties over to them--it's all about trust, it all goes hand in hand."