JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Reservist from the 315th Civil Engineer Flight, Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, exercised emergency management, explosive ordnance disposal and firefighting operations during a 315th CEF joint exercise, Nov. 4, 2023.
Ability-to-survive-and-operate exercises prepare reservists to increase survivability during real-world operations and provide critical event response training.
“Each of these career fields are incredibly important during an incident like this or during any kind of base recovery actions. A lot of these skills that our airmen learn here are directly related to their civilian jobs,“ said Maj. Andrew Folz, 315th Civil Engineer Flight commander.
As citizen airmen, the unique skills that Reserve Civil Engineer Flight members bring from their civilian jobs gives them a special edge.
“This exercise is really important for us because it allows us to take the culmination of the training that we do every single year and put it into practice, get our boots on the ground, really identify where our strengths are and where our weaknesses,” said Master Sgt. Melissa Aubrey, superintendent, Emergency Management Flight, 315th CEF.
Through these joint exercises the 315th CEF can execute EOD, firefighting and emergency response as skilled first responders while serving their country or serving their home communities.
“It really just increases our knowledge base, our interoperability and supports not only the nation, but our communities as well,” Aubrey said.