Marine patrol members Staff Sgt. Alyssa Rade (left) and Senior Airman Shane Ynclan are just like land-based security forces Airmen, except they patrol the base’s waters instead of buildings and streets. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Jeffrey Allen)
Staff Sgt. Alyssa Rade and Senior Airman Shane Ynclan keep a vigilant watch over their base. They confront and deal with any trespassers in their restricted area. The difference for these security forces members is the zone they patrol isn’t the flightline using a squad car, instead their watch is on the ocean waters surrounding MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. driving a high-powered boat.
They patrol MacDill’s 7.2-mile coastline, called the coastal restricted area, which extends 1,000 yards from the shoreline and 2,000 yards from the flightline, making it a “danger zone.” The 6th Security Forces Squadron Marine Patrol Airmen have patrolled the waters continuously since the patrol was initiated in November 2011.
In the aftermath of 9/11, a base threat assessment identified the coastline as a vulnerable area to a terrorist attack, and with critical missions that take place at Macdill, including organizations like U.S. Central Command, U.S. Special Operations Command, the Joint Communications Support Element and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hurricane reconnaissance aircraft, securing the coastline is a priority. While almost 10 other bases have marine patrols, MacDill’s is the only 24/7 operation of its kind in the Air Force.
Staff Sgt. Alyssa Rade returns to the MacDill Air Force Base marina after patrolling the base’s shoreline. Rade is a member of the 6th Security Forces Squadron’s Marine Patrol Flight. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Jeffrey Allen)
“What’s unique is the area around the base is an actual security zone, so no one and no vessel is allowed within that security zone,” said Officer Jesse Gabbert, the 6th SFS Marine Patrol officer in charge. “That’s the primary reason we’re out here, to make sure no one comes into the security zone. Anybody who comes into the security zone is considered a threat until our personnel can deem otherwise, and they respond accordingly, just like they normally would if an individual were to break the red perimeter out on the flightline.”
Only environmentalist researchers and local and state law enforcement agencies are allowed in the restricted zone. Motion sensor cameras are manned in the control center to aid the patrols in spotting unauthorized boats in the area. The marine patrol crews have arrest and apprehension authority within the area, but they mostly work with state and local police departments and the Coast Guard.
When they find boaters operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs or other criminal activity, they usually detain them until other law enforcement agencies like Florida Fish and Wildlife or the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office marine units arrive to make the arrest.
For security forces members, working in the marine patrol flight requires a separate screening process. In addition to a records review, they also must have a minimum 85 physical fitness test score and pass a swimming test in the 200-meter freestyle and 25-meter underwater, as well as be able to tread water in their Airman Battle Uniform for five minutes. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Jeffrey Allen)
When a two-person crew like Rade and Ynclan spot a boat in their restricted zone, they pull up to it with lights flashing or sirens blaring and call in a “Code Five” to the Base Defense Operations Center, just as they would if they were land-based security forces. They challenge all occupants, who are directed to raise their hands while the patrol crew accesses the situation.
After taking the boat outside the restricted area, Rade and Ynclan ask for driver’s licenses and boat registration to run it through the BDOC’s law enforcement terminal system and screen it through National Crime Information Center. They make sure each occupant has a life preserver and look for signs of alcohol. Even if the boaters are doing nothing but fishing or simply got lost, the patrol is usually direct in pointing out they are in a restricted area.
“We’re going to challenge them and make sure we can see what they’re doing on board,” Rade said. “We will explain to them why we pulled them over, that they pretty much broke into our restricted area. We explain the $275 fine for an initial infraction, and that it could go up to a $3,000 fine and apprehension the next time they come in. We issue them a citation, a DD Form 1805, a district court notice violation. After that, we give them the ticket and send them on their way.”
By far, the patrol’s busiest time is in late January and early February, during Tampa Bay’s Gasparilla Fest. The festival celebrates a legend of a mythical Spanish pirate captain and is basically a water boat parade, with more than 1,000 boats in the area. This year, three marine patrols stopped between 50 to 60 vessels and detected several boating under the influence offenses. In a normal week, they may encounter five or six boats, with more activity during the summer.
Staff Sgt. Alyssa Rade, 6th Security Forces Squadron’s Marine Patrol Flight, ties the unit’s patrol boat to the dock after her shift. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Jeffrey Allen)
“It was so bad we would have two boats tied to our boat, and we would be issuing and briefing people left and right,” Rade said. “People who didn’t even know each other would be pulled up together alongside us.”
While Ynclan was already a veteran boater, having grown up in Florida, Rade had never driven a boat before her marine patrol training. Both found their unique job a refreshing change from gate and patrol duty on land.
“It’s definitely a big adjustment to be out on the boat every single day,” Ynclan said. “The things you normally do with your job, like using the radio, becomes a little more difficult on the water with the waves and moving with the boat. So everything gets heightened a little bit on the water.”
While most of the job is spotting trespassers and looking for signs of impaired boaters, the patrol has saved at least one life. A two-man crew was able to reach a 17-year-old who lost his father’s sailboat in 50-mph winds and was about to capsize in his rubber dinghy when they reached him. Both members were awarded medals for what they did that day.
One of the challenges in patrolling the MacDill waters is the range of the water depth. In some areas, the water is as shallow as just a few inches; in others, it can be as deep as 25 to 30 feet. They have four 29-foot aluminum chamber boats and two 26-foot Armstrong boats, as well as two jet propulsion boats that are ideal for shallow water.
Gabbert retired as a master sergeant from security forces, where he was the training and resources superintendent at MacDill and joined the marine patrol in 2009. They were looking for someone who could manage a consistent training standard. The MacDill program has become one that other installations have looked to in starting their own marine patrol.
“We’ve reached a level of being recognized as the premier marine patrol in the Air Force,” he said. “We are trying to lean forward for the Air Force and train units at other bases. The reason I came out here was that training standard, and that’s something we envision–to hopefully push an Air Force standard for marine patrol.”
Another recent success is a partnership with the Security Forces Center Innovation Department and U.S. Transportation Command to develop electronic tactics, techniques and procedures for utilizing non-lethal weapon systems in a maritime environment, Gabbert said.
Security forces members must pass a screening process and interview, which includes an examination of performance reports and duty history. They also must have a minimum 85 physical fitness test score and pass a swimming test in the 200-meter freestyle and 25-meter underwater, as well as be able to tread water in their Airman Battle Uniform for five minutes. When selected, they have a 30-day probationary period to prove they will be able to handle a boat while completing training through the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators.
Senior Airman Shane Ynclan is assigned to MacDill Air Force Base’s 6th Security Forces Squadron’s Marine Patrol Flight. Security forces marine Airmen have patrolled the waters surrounding MacDill continuously since the patrol was initiated in November 2011. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Jeffrey Allen)
Once trained and on the job, the patrol crew members are just like their land-based security forces professionals–except they patrol the base’s waters instead of buildings and streets.
“The way I always relate it to security forces is they are patrolmen, just that they are marine patrolmen,” Gabbert said. “They’re not operating a $27,000 sedan, they’re operating a $200,000 boat. The biggest thing is maturity, even with the young Airmen we get because we’re entrusting them with that type of equipment and operating out there in those types of conditions.”
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