The 435th Security Forces Squadron (435th SFS) is a United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 unit capable of overland airlift

Airlift

Airlift is the act of transporting people or cargo from point to point using aircraft.Airlift may also refer to:*Airlift , a suction device for moving sand and silt underwater-See also:...

, air assault

Air assault

Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing aircraft—such as the helicopter—to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces...

, or airborne insertion

Airdrop

An airdrop is a type of airlift, developed during World War II to resupply otherwise inaccessible troops, who themselves may have been airborne forces. In some cases, it is used to refer to the airborne assault itself. Early airdrops were conducted by dropping or pushing padded bundles from...

 into crisis situations. The unit incorporates more than 13 different specialities including people with civil engineering

Civil engineering

Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...

, medical, intelligence

Military intelligence

Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....

, investigative, fuels, logistics, personnel and security skills. It was formerly known as the 786th Security Forces Squadron.

Deployment History

The 786 SFS as part of the 86th Contingency Response Group (86 CRG) deployed to Tirana Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

, April 4, 1999, as the lead element of the U.S. Humanitarian Relief

Humanitarian aid

Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises including natural disaster and man-made disaster. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity...

 Force Shining/Sustain Hope to distribute rations and water. Operation Shining/Sustain Hope is the U.S. humanitarian effort to bring in food, water, medicine and relief supplies for the refugee

Refugee

A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...

s fleeing from the Former Republic of Yugoslavia into Albania and Macedonia. US assistance began April 5, when an initial team of 40 airmen from the 86 CRG left for Tirana. The team was sent in to establish a base camp near a Tirana airfield and prepare it for the rest of the relief force, which would flow in afterward. The 786 SFS security team joined colleagues from the 86th Air Mobility Squadron (86 AMS) members who were already in Albania as part of an 86 CRG deployment to Tirana, Albania, supporting humanitarian operations to relieve Kosovar Albanian

Albanians in Serbia

Due to dispute regarding the status of Kosovo, Albanians in Serbia may refer to:*Albanians in Central Serbia*Albanians in Kosovo...

 refugees in Albania. The 786 SFS provides force protection in the opening stages of a deployment and also provides protection for any follow-on forces. The 86 AMS provides airfield command and control, loads and unloads aircraft and essentially sets up an aerial port where none existed. This was the group's second contingency deployment. Besides the CRG, Ramstein Air Base

Ramstein Air Base

Ramstein Air Base is a United States Air Force base in the German state of Rheinland-Pfalz. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe and is also a North Atlantic Treaty Organization installation...

 also sent representatives from the 86th Civil Engineer Squadron, 86th Medical Group, 86th Airlift Wing

86th Airlift Wing

The 86th Airlift Wing is a United States Air Force wing, currently assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe. The 86th AW is stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany-Mission:...

 Public Affairs, 86th Transportation Squadron, 86th Material Maintenance Squadron, 86th Security Forces Squadron, 86th Services Squadron, 86th Financial Management and the 786th Civil Engineer Squadron.

In March 2003 the 786 SFS participated in a combat parachute drop into Bashur Airfield in conjunction with the 173rd Airborne Brigade to open up the northern front in Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

 during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The 786 SFS is the first conventional

Conventional warfare

Conventional warfare is a form of warfare conducted byusing conventional military weapons and battlefield tactics between two or more states in open confrontation. The forces on each side are well-defined, and fight using weapons that primarily target the opposing army...

 Air Force unit to participate in a combat parachute airborne

Airborne forces

Airborne forces are military units, usually light infantry, set up to be moved by aircraft and 'dropped' into battle. Thus they can be placed behind enemy lines, and have an ability to deploy almost anywhere with little warning...

jump.

The 786 SFS also trains all USAFE SF units in Combat Skills at the USAFE Regional Training Center at Sembach AB Germany also called "Creek Defender." Included are subjects such as Live Fire, Convoy Security, Patrolling, Air Base Defense, Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) and a host of other skills during a 15-day course.

The 786 SFS was redesignated the 435 Security Forces Squadron on 16 July 2009, and falls under the 435 CRG (formerly 86 CRG).