Police Week pays tribute to fallen comrades

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Malia Jenkins
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  The 18th Security Forces Squadron honored more than a dozen fallen comrades during a week-long community event highlighting National Police Week.

In the past decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, 17 service members from the Air Force security forces and Office of Special Investigations have been killed in the line of duty. Every year, 18th Security Forces Airmen have carried on the tradition of holding Police Week activities to honor their memory.

"Police week is an event that started back with President Kennedy," said Airman 1st Class Brandon Spears, 18th Security Forces Squadron police service specialist. "It's been a tradition for a long time. It's not just a security forces event; it's an event that pays tribute to all cops worldwide."

This year's event started off with a 5K run on May 21, followed by a joint service defenders challenge May 22.

The defenders challenge had a variety of events to test the teams' strategy and determination, including warrior push-ups inside a mud pit. The teams then had to carry a teammate across a field and back in a given time period.  In the end, Team Charlie, comprised of Airmen 1st Class Brandon Spears, Joshua Sutton, Rashawn Richards and Kenneth Stuartwon came out on top in contest against their coworkers and other joint service teams.

"People rarely see the other half of us, which is the deployed side," explained Spears. "The defenders challenge is the area where we get to tap into our deployed environment training."

All the events, including the defenders challenge and torch run had special meaning behind them.

On May 23, the unit kicked off a 17-hour long torch run at Marek Park that ended with a memorial service at Chapel 2. As a final tribute, a speech was given at the service remembering each of the 17 security forces and OSI personnel who died in the line of duty.

"(The memorial service) gives you a greater purpose for why we do what we do. I didn't come in to be a cop. I was placed into this career field, but after what I've experienced I wouldn't change it," Spears said.