Responsibility for keeping 30,000 people safe in Baghdad’s international zone is in the hands of some 45 security forces airmen, reports SSgt. Markus Maier. Deployed from Grand Forks AFB, N.D., Lackland AFB, Tex., RAF Mildenhall, England, and Ramstein AFB, Germany, the airmen comprise Det. 4 of the 732nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron. The airmen are the first responders in the event of an attack, and they tend to the injured as well as secure the scene. When not dealing with emergencies, they are on patrol checking identification badges, searching for security breaches, and setting up traffic control points.
The Chinese spy balloon may have popped, but funding to protect against similar threats is inflating, according to the Department of Defense. The high-attitude surveillance balloon that traversed the U.S. in late January and early February prompted last-minute additions to the Pentagon's budget of around $90 million for measures to…