GULFPORT, Miss. – Witnessing firsthand the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast has been difficult for some members of the Maine Air National Guard’s 101st Security Forces Squadron. The wreckage evokes not only a sense of sympathy among the men for the residents of this crippled coastal town, but also a sense of duty to participate in the front lines of the recovery effort.

As the men fulfill their mission to patrol the Air National Guard Combat Readiness Training Center here, that experience is hard to come by. Largely insulated on the base from the civilian recovery effort, the team’s members nevertheless feel an impulse to lend a hand to those trying to rebuild.

“This is the role that we’ve been given,” Chief Master Sgt. Allen Graves said Tuesday. “We do wish we could be more hands-on.”

During brief forays into town, the men have seen crumbling houses, roads littered with wood and twisted metal, and people sifting through debris where their homes used to stand. Though nearly a month has passed since Katrina ripped through town, much of the recovery work remains. Given a few hours and some chain saws, the team could help in at least some small way, several men have pointed out.

But that is not the job the team was brought here to do. They are charged with protecting a base that now serves as a staging area for recovery efforts throughout Mississippi, a mission critical to the rebuilding process, Maj. Joel Nadeau said Tuesday.

“We always want to be at the forward edge, but we often have to be in a support role,” he said. “Right now we’re needed at CRTC.”

The installation has housed thousands more troops than usual since the hurricane hit, at one point reaching nearly 12,000 people, compared to the typical 130. Traffic on and off the base, by air and on the ground, has increased with CRTC’s shift from a training center to a recovery operations hub.

All that activity requires security in the form of regular patrols to catch and, more importantly, deter unruly behavior, Graves said.

“Visibility’s a big part of what we do,” he said.

The team also will offer to help off the base during the men’s free time, Nadeau said.

“We would love to give them a hand however we can,” he said.

Since arriving Sept. 19, the men have worked 12-hour shifts without a day off, leaving few open hours.

On a drive Tuesday through Gulfport and neighboring Biloxi, Graves said he was encouraged to see troops and military vehicles clearing debris.

“That’s what I want to see, right there,” he said, pointing to a military dump truck loaded with tree branches along Interstate 90. “Military assets moving stuff.”

Now that the lifesaving phase of the recovery effort is over in Mississippi, the Department of Defense is beginning to recognize the need for civil engineering and heavy equipment units to salvage property, Graves said.

“They’re starting to see that we need a different type of troop here,” he said.

For as long as the Maine security team is needed, its members will continue regular patrols until its scheduled return in two weeks. In the meantime, two of the team’s younger members will be promoted during a ceremony Thursday.

Airmen First Class Brad Chase of Garland and Sean O’Brien of Durham will add a third bar to the stripes they wear on their sleeves, signifying their promotion to senior airmen. The ceremony, to be held in an air-conditioned tent, will be memorable for the team, Graves and Nadeau said.

Particularly special will be the incorporation of three tattered flags given to the team as a gift by the CRTC security unit. The U.S. Air Force, American and Mississippi state flags flew over the installation during the hurricane and survived, though a bit worse for wear.

The flags will be displayed back at the Bangor Air National Guard base with photographs of the team and of the Gulfport area as a reminder of the team’s mission in this struggling city, Graves said.

BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY GABOR DEGRE

Chief Master Sgt. Allen Graves of the 101st Security Forces Squadron based in Bangor looks at trash that washed ashore at a boat landing owned by the Air National Guard Combat Readiness Center in Gulfport, Miss., on Monday. Graves and the other unit members were astounded by the level of destruction from Hurricane Katrina. They wished they were able to help residents more directly, he said.