SFS uses FTX, trains for real world scenarios

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman David Owsianka
  • 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  The 51st Security Forces Squadron held a field training exercise April 15-17 at the Rush Park and Life Support site at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea to provide the base defenders with necessary training to be better prepared for Operational Readiness Exercises and any real world incidents.

"We can be attacked at any moment," said Tech. Sgt. Michael Bridgman, 51st SFS training assistant noncommissioned-officer-in-charge. "Training is our best way to ensure we are utilizing every possible moment to prepare and be ready for an attack."

The FTX was split into four different sections: mounted and dismounted operations, weapons and radios familiarization, room clearing tactics and force-on force training.

The Airmen worked in two areas during the mounted and dismounted operations training. In the mounted section, a five-Airmen squad entered a Humvee where they were trained on how to properly perform base and area security operations as they received enemy fire and identify unexploded ordinance on the side of the road. In the dismounted training, the Airmen went through different formations as they patrolled parts of the golf course, while having to react accordingly to opposing forces and go through all of the necessary movements to eliminate the threats.

During the second section, the defenders were familiarized with the M-19 grenade launcher, M-2 and M240B machine guns, and how to load and unload encrypted tactical radios. The training also consisted of Airmen becoming accustomed to using defense fighting positions, and being able to conduct range estimation and build range cards to highlight different types of obstacles to effectively engage a target.

In the third section, the Airmen performed building clearing and close quarters battling where personnel worked together in four-five man teams. The teams used dye-marked simulated munitions as they learned how to correctly clear facilities of casualties and enemy forces.

At the end of the day, the defenders went through force-on-force training. Two squads were given the same objective, which was to rescue a downed defender, as they competed against each other to be the first squad to rescue their fellow defender. It was treated as a realistic scenario, where if an Airmen is shot with a simulated round in a vital area, they were pronounced dead. The squads worked together utilizing shoot, move and communication skills to traverse between natural and manmade cover in order to successfully complete the objective.

"The training was very helpful and a great refresher course for me," said Staff Sgt. Nicole Cepeda, 51st SFS E-flight patrolman. "It was nice to work with and help train Airmen who haven't deployed yet to provide them with experiences I have gone through to better prepare them for potential situations."