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Security Forces Squadron conducts combat training

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Zach Anderson
  • 931st Air Refueling Group Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  Senior Airman Ashley Rodriguez was feeling the burn.

"That was rough!" she exclaimed, hands her knees, gasping for air.

Rodriguez, a member of the 931st Air Refueling Group Security Forces Squadron, had just completed the Marine Corps Combat Fitness Test. The test was part of a rigorous, two-day training regimen the squadron conducted over the January Unit Training Assembly. Over the course of two days, squadron members completed the combat fitness test, participated in ground-fighting skills training, and conducted martial arts combat training as well.

Maj. Edward Hunn, 931st Security Forces Squadron commander, said the entire weekend was designed to teach troops to push themselves beyond their mental and physical limits.

"Security forces members are asked to go out and do things that are not easy under extreme conditions," said Hunn. "It's when your body is tired and your mind is exhausted that the bad guys are going to try to do what they want to do to you. You have to be able to repel that attack or defend that asset, whether it is an airfield, a facility, munitions, or other people. You've got to be able to handle it."

The combat fitness course was a key part of that training. The event began with a half-mile run, followed by two minutes of rapidly lifting 30-pound ammunition cans ... and that was just the warm-up for the 300-foot long fitness course.

To complete the course, members were required to run a 25-yard sprint, fall into a high-crawl for 10 yards, conduct a modified high-crawl for 15 yards, run in a zigzag sprint to a "casualty" played by a fellow Airman, drag the "casualty" for ten yards, carry the "casualty" for the remainder of the course, drop the "casualty" at the finish line and pick up two ammo cans, zigzag sprint the length of the course, drop the cans, throw a dummy grenade, do three pushups, pick up the cans, and zigzag sprint back to the finish line.

"That'll get your blood pumping!" said Staff Sgt. Kyle Behymer after making his run through the course.

Of course, getting in a good morning workout wasn't the sole purpose of the training.

"The objective is really two-fold," said Hunn. "First, this simulates the continuous physical exertion security forces members have to deal with day in and day out. And then there's the team building aspect. These Airmen are working with their fire-team members. They have to have confidence in each other, confidence that they will accomplish the task and confidence that they can physically accomplish it."

Staff Sgt. Dustin Wileman is brand-new to the 931st SFS, having just transitioned to the Air Force Reserve after serving eight years as an active-duty Marine. He was pivotal in putting the combat training together and spoke from firsthand knowledge on the importance of going beyond the boundaries of typical physical fitness training.

"This training is so important! This is the type of thing that gets them prepared for what they will have to deal with when they do go downrange. This is combat-oriented physical training," said Wileman.

Airman 1st Class Jeff Whitfield said the combat fitness course was definitely more demanding than a typical PT session.

"This is a lot tougher. It's much more strenuous, and it's much longer," he said.

Senior Airman David Botzet, another former Marine who worked with Wileman to implement the training, said it's really about getting his fellow squadron members ready for whatever future assignments await them.

Botzet pointed out that every component of the combat fitness test, from low-crawling to carrying ammo cans to evacuating a casualty all simulate actual movements that would be needed in a battlefield scenario.

"We could end up doing foot patrols in Afghanistan or any other country we may go to. This simulates the combat feel so we get used to it and know that in the end, even if you are exhausted, you can dig deep and push through it," said Botzet.

Hunn said the plan is for the two-day training to be an annual occurrence SFS members can look forward to and prepare for throughout the year.

"We have an annual training plan and throughout the year do a lot of physical training, but this is going to be the event for January. It's two days they can count on. It's all about working under that pressure when your body is tired and your mind is exhausted," said Hunn.

Watching his troops run through the course, Hunn said he was extremely proud of the Airmen in his squadron and of the effort he saw being exerted. That effort, he said, is what will continue to make the 931st SFS a stronger force.

"By putting our troopers through this training, they are going to understand just how much more they need to stay in shape and just how important it is to work as a team," said Hunn. "When one person gets tired, there are three others there on the fire-team to help pick up the slack. They have to understand that's what they need to do. We've got a great team here, and they are really coming together nicely. You can count on them."