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Vigilant Ace 16: Defenders simulate OpFor attacks

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Kristin High
  • 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  Day or night, defenders from the 51st Security Forces Squadron are the first line of protection against opposing forces. With strategic and tactical training, they are able to protect more than 10,000 U.S. and Korean service members and their families.

The defenders train year-round in the high operations environment here, especially during Exercise Vigilant Ace 16, which has more than 16,000 U.S. and ROK forces personnel participating.

The exercise created an intense training environment with various simulated opposing forces attacks, giving defenders the opportunity to showcase their ability to position, employ and sustain forces during a variety of situations.

"We practiced large-scale attacks on some of our facilities, tested the individual arming responses of defenders and even practiced enemy prisoner of war capture scenarios," said Chief Master Sgt. James O'Neil, 51st SFS wing inspection team chief. "The wing inspection team monitored each scenario for potential weak spots in defense."

Defenders of all ranks were tested on their ability to lead the fight. Airmen from 51st SFS and 35th SFS, Misawa Air Base Japan, simulated opposing forces during attacks.

"Our Airmen are doing extremely well," said O'Neil. "Being this far into the exercise, people are tired, but the motivation is high. People are taking care of business, learning and practicing, honing and applying their skills."

From a tactical standpoint, Airmen were asked a multitude of questions. What did they do? Why did they do it? How well did we accomplish this? Did we meet our goals?

"Sometimes it's hard to understand why people make certain choices during the attacks," he said. "When you get to talk to them afterward, you get a sense of where their head was. Positive or negative, we critique after each attack allowing for a learning environment for all of the participants."

These lessons learned have the potential to save a life tomorrow, he added.

Training of this nature is very important to 51st SFS defenders because it's not the level of training that occurs on a daily basis, explained Staff Sgt. Kevin McCarthy, 51st SFS WIT member.

"It's a stressful environment, but it's a learning environment and Airmen are out here practicing what they're trained to do, and showing us all what they're truly capable of."