News>Pararescue, security forces Airmen train as one
Photos
Second Lt. Kendrick Passey and Staff Sgt. Craig Patterson, both assigned to the 38th Rescue Squadron, get hoisted to an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter during a training mission at Avon Park Air Force Range, Fla., Dec. 12, 2012. The Airmen took part in a medical evacuation where they assisted members of the 823rd Base Defense Squadron after an ambush. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jamal D. Sutter)
Airman 1st Class Kyle McNamara, 823rd Base Defense Squadron fire team member, performs perimeter cover after a fire fight during a training mission at Avon Park Air Force Range, Fla., Dec. 12, 2012. The 823d BDS Airmen trained with 38th Rescue Squadron pararescuemen and combat rescue officers to familiarize themselves with each other’s ways of operating in combat situations. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jamal D. Sutter)
Airman 1st Class Kyle McNamara, 823rd Base Defense Squadron fire team member, passes a smoke grenade to Lt. Col. Patrick O’Rourke, 38th Rescue Squadron commander, during a training mission at Avon Park Air Force Range, Fla., Dec. 12, 2012. The Airmen used the smoke to mark a landing zone and perform a medical evacuation for their simulated injured team members. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jamal D. Sutter)
Airman 1st Class Marcus Triplett, 823rd Base Defense Squadron fire team member, aims an M4 carbine during a training mission at Avon Park Air Force Range, Fla., Dec. 12, 2012. Triplett and his team took part in a simulated fire fight with members of the 38th Rescue Squadron playing roles as opposing forces. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jamal D. Sutter)
Airmen from the 823rd Base Defense Squadron and 38th Rescue Squadron ground themselves as an HH-60G Pave Hawk from the 41st Rescue Squadron hovers above them during a medical evacuation at Avon Park Air Force Range, Fla., Dec. 12, 2012. The evacuation was part of a three-day training exercise testing their ability to operate during hostile situations. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jamal D. Sutter)
Airmen from the 823rd Base Defense Squadron and 38th Rescue Squadron ground themselves as an HH-60G Pave Hawk from the 41st Rescue Squadron hovers above them during a medical evacuation at Avon Park Air Force Range, Fla., Dec. 12, 2012. The evacuation was part of a three-day training exercise testing their ability to operate during hostile situations. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jamal D. Sutter)
Airman 1st Class Austen Carroll, 38th Rescue Squadron pararescueman, applies a tourniquet to Airman 1st Class Kyle McNamara, 823rd Base Defense Squadron fire team member, during a training mission at Avon Park Air Force Range, Fla., Dec. 13, 2012. The Airmen and their units took part in various scenarios for three days at Avon Park. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jamal D. Sutter)
Airman 1st Class Roman Timbang, 823rd Base Defense Squadron fire team member, lies in distress during a training mission at Avon Park Air Force Range, Fla., Dec. 13, 2012. Timbang played the role of an uncooperative victim trying to protect his dead wingman after an attack. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jamal D. Sutter)
Staff Sgts. Eric Braddock, left, and Ryan Onely, both 38th Rescue Squadron pararescuemen, prepare Capt. Nicholas Morgans, 38th RQS combat rescue officer, for a medical evacuation during a training mission at Avon Park Air Force Range, Fla., Dec. 13, 2012. An aircrew flying an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter helped extract the Airmen. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jamal D. Sutter)
Staff Sgt. Ryan Onely, 38th Rescue Squadron pararescueman, watches as an HH-60G Pave Hawk prepares for extraction during a training mission at Avon Park Air Force Range, Fla., Dec. 13, 2012. The helicopter was flown by an aircrew from the 41st Rescue Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jamal D. Sutter)
by Staff Sgt. Jamal Sutter
23rd Wing Public Affairs
12/21/2012 - AVON PARK AIR FORCE TRAINING RANGE, Fla. (AFNS) -- The afternoon sky was still and silent just before a thunderous HH-60G Pave Hawk landed thrusting 100 mph winds. Out jumped three pararescuemen assessing possible threats in all directions as they headed to aid an injured member of a friendly force.
The 38th Rescue Squadron and 823rd Base Defense Squadron recently wrapped up a three-day training exercise here designed to prepare for missions downrange and to familiarize with each other's operations.
"They operate with more people," said Capt. Michael Vins, a 38th RQS combat rescue officer. "Their standard crew is maybe 12 to 15 guys in their squad, whereas we operate with six at the most. So we have different mindsets on tactics. With this larger force when we work together, we can actually keep moving toward targets and keep going toward more dangerous threats. A lot of the times our tactics are different from that. We're such a small group, it's almost like we're evading as soon as we hit the ground."
The differences in size and tactics didn't stop them from completing objectives, but there was much to be learned by both units on each other's ways of getting the job done.
"The biggest difficulty is assuming they know how we operate and us assuming we know how they operate," said Staff Sgt. Rachel Nelson, a 823rd BDS squad leader. "Then when a scenario kicks off, you realize your guys are operating on two different wavelengths. We're more 'ground and pound' and they're thinking totally different."
Nelson also added how the units blended and overcame their differences to grow.
"It's pretty awesome to see the different dynamics of everything and recognizing that there's so much out there that we don't realize we have to our use," she said. "You get really great ideas from working with these other guys with different tactics and different procedures."
The units have trained together at their home station, Moody Air Force Base, Ga., but never in such a large-scale capacity. Avon Park training range, located nearly 300 miles from Moody AFB, allowed them the time and space needed to execute much more detailed missions.
"Out here, there are less people; there are less assets," Vins said. "It's easier to schedule longer periods of range time. There are so many people at Moody trying to use the range. Grand Bay is right there, but the A-10 (Thunderbolt IIs) need it; the C-130 (Hercules) need it -- whereas down here, there are more areas to choose from."
The exercise included various scenarios over a 12-hour span each day and encompassed mission planning, flying to the area, executing objectives and reconstitution phases.
Members of the mission planning team, or white cell, used every resource they had to make the training as comprehensive as possible.
"The (scenarios) we've completed are what we'd call 'complex casualty evacuations,'" Vins said. "That's the mindset we had going in -- to present these complex missions that weren't just 'go in, get the guy and leave'. It's go in and then figure out, 'Hey, maybe we have to move 500 meters to a different spot, or maybe we have to extricate him from a vehicle. Maybe we have to dive for this guy.'"
BDS defenders also shared similar views on the training's depth and intensity.
"We're actually approaching an entire scenario," Nelson said. "We've got people firing at us, we have somebody captured and we have to think about our resources, one of them being the PJs who are out there to assist us."
According to Vins, the security forces Airmen played a very vital role to mission success and did a lot to assist the PJs as well. When deployed, the 38th RQS is often embedded with ground forces, and training with the 823rd BDS prepared them for what to expect when operating with those troops.
"They are a very good player as far as a ground piece," he said. "We work a lot with the Marines and the Army downrange, and these guys mimic that player very well. I think they're getting training out of it too as far as their improvised explosive device procedures and calling in medical evacuations."
Comments
1/2/2013 6:33:00 AM ET A TRUE Battlefield Airman probably doesn't have time to read af.mil and probably don't really care about all this self-righteousness. Self-actualize people. Your egos are getting in the way of teaming.
James, ACC
1/1/2013 9:37:32 AM ET @True BA GUNG HOThese responses are a reflection of the mindset that everyone is special and everyone gets a trophy. If everyone is special then nobody is special. End of story.Combat does not mean you drive a truck outside the wire and your convoy takes pop shots and you drive away. Combat is identifying and killing the enemy by means of fire and maneuver. Battlefield Airmen do that. Just because you set foot outside the wire does not make you a Battlefield Airman.
Battlefield Airman, FOB
12/31/2012 7:34:58 PM ET I'm confused where is the reference to SF members as BAs I must be missing it. However just to keep it clear our legacy on the battlefield goes way back to Operation Safeside in the VN years - and to this day defenders are outside the wire and engaged. Get over yourselves.
JYearsley, Florida
12/31/2012 5:55:35 PM ET Is this training going to enhance SF capes at writing tickets for folks failing to wear reflective belts on Khandahar SF needs to be changed to MP and put back on the gates. Maybe we can save some money on contractors when the Air Force stops enabling a community of wannabes.
TACP, Island of Blue in a Sea of Green
12/29/2012 10:25:33 AM ET Note to editor Please take a moment to correct the title of this article as well as delete the direct quote from the SSgt. Cops are NOT battlefield airmen and it disrespects those who truly are. It is more than just a name it is the training the sacrifice and the family bonded by this word. While I appreciate the works of these base defenders they have not earned the title battlefield airman.
True BA, Fort Bragg
12/28/2012 2:00:13 AM ET The four of you need to educate yourselves. Security Forces have been outside the wire since Vietnam did it plenty in Iraq and continue to do so Afghanistan. EOD Shame on you for even considering the idea that they aren't out on the battlefield. You can quibble over definitions all you want but the fact is that these Airmen are out there right now.
Seen it myself, Kandahar
12/27/2012 8:48:43 PM ET Security Forces are not Battlefield Airmen as defined in AFPD 10-35 however this does not take way from the 820th's unique mission. This mission does not only take Security Forces OTW but may require support from and integration with BA such as CCT TACP and PJs. As a Battlefield Airman I'm glad to see these units training together.
JC, NV
12/27/2012 7:50:23 PM ET The article is about battlefield Airmen the PJs in this case training as a unified group with other members of the military and how to utilize the resources at hand. But the title refers to all of the individuals in this article as battlefield Airmen which inaccurate. Its the title that needs changing. WWW.UNITEDSTATESAIRMAN.COM
Nicholas Puma, Macdill
12/27/2012 2:14:09 PM ET It could possibly be that the Air Force is contemplating on expanding the cops role in their AFSC to be more than base defense. Hence why they are spending the time money and effort on exercises like this. Try to think outside of the box.
CyberBattleFieldAirman, A server near you
12/27/2012 1:14:50 PM ET I Just LOVE all these world-class cop Haters. Thanks for being all about the team guys. First no one is trying to steal your beloved title from you. That's a big Air Force issue Defenders...like the Honey Badger don't care.Second you are correct in that your mission is often defined in your duty title. Where you fail is in your understanding of what base defense truly is. The Base Defense Zone is an area outside the defended space within the perimeter and is ultimately the responsibility of the SF Defenders. This is in support of your doctrinal mission sets i.e. calling in airstrikes rescuing isolated personnel obtaining SOF weather inputs etc. Within that defined area is an area rife with opportunity for adversary MANPADground attack andor influence. It is our defenders who go out and engage the populace and maintain security within that area to ensure the Air mission continues unfettered. You doubt the probability of ground attack on an Airfield Ask personnel curren
Unsilent Defender, VA
12/26/2012 9:33:51 AM ET Why does the Air Force continue to spend money on the cops' effort to convince the world that they are anything but base security Woe to the inferiority complex of a carreer field that has no business outside the wire.Battlefied Airmen they are not.
BattlefieldAirman, Ft Polk
12/23/2012 3:02:23 PM ET Words having meaning. Use them correctly.
Caveman, Bedrock
12/22/2012 2:52:00 PM ET Airmen in the 820th Base Defense Group are NOT battlefield Airmen. Your unit does not determine that title your AFSC does. Cops EOD CBRNE etc are NOT BAs. Battlefield Airmen are TACP Special Operations Weather Combat Control and Pararescue. That's it. Period.
Battlefield Airman, FOB
12/21/2012 2:26:17 PM ET I'm confused the title and article appear to be referring to security forces as battlefield airmen. As far as I knew only PJ CCT TACP and SOWT were considered battlefield airmen. Has this changed
