Gunfire erupted from the live firing range behind him, a voice came over a megaphone, speaking orders to the trainees. After nearly 20 years on the job, for Morrill, on Sept. 10, the pre-deployment training at the United States Air Force Expeditionary Center at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst was almost second nature.
On some days the trainees do live fire training, while during other times, they learn to drive in a convoy, train on how to find an improvised explosive device (IED), or learn to provide first aid while under fire. “You hope you never have to use it, but it’s good to have a general understanding of it in case you do,” Morrill said, referring to first aid.
The U.S. Air Force adopted a more fluid system of pre-deployment training last year, which is used for all airmen. Much of the training that is given was developed from recommendations by troops on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Being responsible for finding local suppliers, builders, and other professionals, doesn’t sound like the most exciting job the armed forces have to offer, but Morrill and others in his profession put their lives on the line every day.
“You have people who don’t like you, and you still have got to go out and find things and get things done; so it’s very tough,” he said.
With the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the beginning of Operation New Dawn, local contractors will begin playing a larger role in rebuilding Iraq, and airmen like Morrill are the ones who need to go out and find them.
“There’s no power grid, there’s no water treatment plants, there's no sewage systems—there’s none of this stuff,” Morrill said. “So, somebody has got to go in there. … They may use an Army Corps of Engineers to train for a lot of that stuff, but somebody has got to go out and buy it, and sustain it, and build.”
“We can do those things, but we can’t keep doing it forever,” he added. “So we have to teach them to do it.”
Great Opportunities and Deadly Risks
In 2009, NATO and the United States spent nearly $14 billion on contracting services, according to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
Hiring contractors has proven to be useful from many angles. The practice provides local jobs, creates infrastructure, and saves the United States much-needed funds. According to Morrill, if the United States shipped materials from outside the country, overall cost would greatly rise because of fuel and distribution expenses.
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