Unit provides insight to servicemembers Published Nov. 28, 2012 By Staff Sgt. Maria Bowman 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- The 375th Operations Support Squadron Intelligence Flight plays a crucial role in providing information aimed at keeping Team Scott members, both in the U.S. and at deployed locations, safe. "The flight supports the wing commander by performing a current intelligence briefing during his weekly wing standup to ensure he knows what's going on in the world, and what events may affect his wing," said 1st Lt. Steven Wang, intelligence officer. "The commander wants to know about anything that affects air mobility operations; anything that affects the areas he has his people deployed to." The flight also supports the wing's anti-terrorism and force protection programs. "We sit in on the Threat Working Group and the Anti-Terrorism Working Group," Wang said. "We contribute to the group to determine what the base force protection condition level needs to be, or what anti-terrorism protection measures need to be enacted due to a new threat to the base." Wang said the flight also trains the Security Forces Squadron on force protection intelligence procedures semi-annually. "The training entails looking at the international threats around the base," he said. "We train SFS on known terrorist organizations, and how they work. "We give SFS the background of the area that servicemembers deploy to, and any weapons that they will see at their deployed locations," Wang said. "The goal is to train the cops to be ready for the threats that are most likely going to be where they are." Additionally, the flight is responsible for providing information for local preflight mission briefings. Airman 1st Class Matthew Edwards, an intelligence analyst, said, "We support the 458th Airlift Squadron and the 375th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron by providing pre-mission briefings. We brief all Scott deployers on where they are going and what they can anticipate." Wang said the flight provides credible threat information for specific locations. "Pre-mission briefs entail working with the aircrew, figuring out their destination, and the route they are taking," Wang said. "Based on that, we look into the threats that are along the route and in the areas they are landing in." Edwards said the flight enhances the threat briefings with weapon mock-ups to emphasize what deployers might come across during a contingency. "When we go to briefings, we take multiple props with us," Edwards said. "We have a mock-up of a rocket--one of the most common uses of a homemade improvised explosive device in Afghanistan." Edwards said the training is important to both aircrew and personnel on the ground so they better understand what these weapons systems do and what to do should they encounter one. "We have the AK-47 assault rifle, which is the most common weapon system that the insurgents carry," he said. "We have a rocket-propelled grenade and man-portable air-defense systems, and we explain the difference between what an RPG does and what a MANPAD does." Wang said that the intelligence flight has a very important mission because it provides information that equips leadership with the ability to make vital decisions. "I feel like my job is important because nothing moves without intelligence," he said. "Nobody acts without intelligence. "You want to know what your enemy is doing before you plan on any type of attack; you want to know the enemy better than you know yourself," he said. "That's what my job is. It makes it safer for our flight operations and for Scott AFB."