Security forces at Bagram practice urban warfare

  • Published
  • By Maj. David Kurle
  • 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) --  Deployed Airmen, distributing humanitarian supplies, are taken hostage by enemy forces while visiting an Afghan village. It’s now up to the accompanying squad of security forces to rescue the Airmen and eliminate the bad guys.

This is the scenario members of the 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron were exercising here May 9 in the Army’s Military Operations in Urban Terrain, or MOUT, facility.

The facility is custom-made for training and is designed to resemble a typical Afghan village, complete with buildings made of mud. Inside are a collection of high-tech cameras, video recorders, speakers and mannequins that move on swivels to simulate terrorists hiding inside the structure.

Security forces move through the structure, shooting special rounds called ultimate training munitions, which mark the target with colored powder. The facility is run from a computerized control room by a Soldier who is an expert in this type of warfare.

“Every single camera can record for training purposes and provides immediate feedback,” said Tech. Sgt. Edward Nin, the 455th ESFS training NCO in charge, who is deployed from Beale Air Force Base, Calif. “The most important thing about training is giving the troops accurate and immediate feedback.”

“This career field is not just sitting in shacks guarding gates any more,” said Tech. Sgt. Robert Taverna, the squadron’s patrol leader and an Air Force reservist deployed from McGuire AFB, N.J. “Before Sept. 11, we basically had specialized units that would go to a bare-bones base and provide security. Now, the whole security forces career field is doing that.”

Part of Sergeant Taverna’s job is to train security forces Airmen in the fine art of urban combat using the MOUT. All of the security forces have been through urban combat training before, but not in a facility that resembles an Afghan village.

“You can’t get anything like this in the States,” said Staff Sgt. Jack Humphrey, who is a deployed reservist from McGuire AFB, N.J. “This is exactly how it is outside (the base).”
The security forces run the exercises in teams of four to five, making their tactical approaches and entrances to each building, with team members supporting one another, wary for an attack from any possible direction, including above or below them. There are a number of trap doors on the floor of the facility.

Tech. Sgt. Daniel Hicks led his squad of Senior Airman Charles Coles, Senior Airman Victor Morales and Airman 1st Class Erika Asbury, all deployed from Eglin AFB, Fla., through all three sections of the MOUT facility. Security forces instructors observed, offered advice and pointed out what the team did right.

The key elements of this type of warfare are coordination of team movement, communication between squad members, teamwork and trust, Sergeant Hicks said.

“Trust is the big factor because we’re relying on every member to watch each other's backs,” he said. “Communication is also key because someone may see something and they need to let each team member know about a possible threat.”

Sergeant Hicks’ team agreed that stairways are an especially critical part of clearing any building.

Any time they are firing from an elevated position, the enemy has the advantage because they have more cover than us, the targets, Airman Coles said.

The security forces Airmen here hope they never have to put this training to use, but they might have to as they accompany other Airmen in missions off the base.

The MOUT facility is an invaluable training aid to prepare security forces for any eventuality, according to Sergeant Nin.

“Even though they’ve gone through the war training center, they haven’t done it together because everyone’s from eight different bases,” he said. “They need this training together to operate and flow as a team.”