Road Warrior exercise tests defenders’ combat capabilities

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Breanna Carter
  • 90th Missile Wing Public Affairs
Airmen from the 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming; 91st MW at Minot AFB, North Dakota and the 341st MW at Malmstrom AFB, Montana, participated in the Road Warrior exercise at Camp Guernsey, Wyoming, Sept. 9-28, 2017. The 20th Air Force’s exercise has strategic and tactical benefits that contribute to the security of America’s nuclear assets.

Road Warrior is a three-week exercise that assesses nuclear convoy operations which are regularly conducted by the security forces, maintenance and helicopter groups. A convoy consists of a group of military vehicles secured by trained defenders which transports nuclear components.

“This is a tactical assessment to ensure that convoy personnel are as highly trained as possible to transport and protect the nuclear resource,” said Lt. Col. Joseph Mannino, 20th Air Force chief of operations. “This is also an opportunity for us to assess tactics improvement in the execution of operations. It’s the most critical thing we do as a missile wing due to the potential vulnerabilities during transport.”

The assessment provided participants the opportunity to apply their skills and tactics in a realistic training environment. During the exercise, teams were evaluated on how they reacted to a number of scenarios.

“When they come out here, they’re evaluated on their performance as if they were in a real combat scenario,” said Senior Airman Angelique Torrence, 620th Ground Combat Training Squadron formal training instructor. “We put them in the most stressful and most probable situations to see where they are and what can be improved.”

Hosting the exercise at Camp Guernsey also allowed defenders from all three missile wings to use unfamiliar equipment in a new environment.

“This exercise is important because it gives us a more real-world perspective we can’t get at our home station,” said Senior Airman Matthew Lamere, 91st Missile Security Forces Squadron tactical response force member. “It’s an opportunity for us to get realistic experience with oppositional forces.”

During the assessment, 20th Air Force leadership attended to gain insight into how well missile wing personnel handled the situations and what they were learning.

"Road Warrior provides a realistic assessment of our nuclear convoy tactics, techniques and procedures. It allows Airmen to train in real-world conditions to ensure we remain safe, secure and lethal as an (intercontinental ballistic missile) force," said Maj. Gen. Anthony Cotton, 20th Air Force commander. "I saw our Airmen in action at Camp Guernsey and witnessed the teamwork among our security forces, maintenance and helicopter Airmen. It's inspiring to see these Sentinel Warriors in action."