560th RED HORSE Squadron field training

Reserve Citizen Airmen with the 560th RED HORSE Squadron, Joint Base Charleston, S.C. conduct construction and civil engineering training at McCrady Training Center, Eastover, S.C. April 4, 2018. More than 200 Reserve and Active duty Airmen participated in this year's training in support of the Red Horse mission to provide a dedicated, mobile, flexible, self-sufficient heavy construction engineering force for airfield, base infrastructure and special capabilities to support worldwide contingency operations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Steven A. Ortiz)

RED HORSE Training

Reserve Citizen Airmen with the 560th RED HORSE Squadron, Joint Base Charleston, S.C. conduct construction and civil engineering training at McCrady Training Center, Eastover, S.C. April 5, 2018. More than 200 Reserve and Active duty Airmen participated in this year's training in support of the Red Horse mission to provide a dedicated, mobile, flexible, self-sufficient heavy construction engineering force for airfield, base infrastructure and special capabilities to support worldwide contingency operations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Steven A. Ortiz)

RED HORSE Training

560th RED HORSE builds foundations for future operations

Published May 3, 2018
By Senior Airman Steven Ortiz
4th Combat Camera Squadron

EASTOVER, S.C. -- A convoy of forklifts, bulldozers, backhoes, trucks with generators and CONEX boxes made its way to an open field at McCrady Training Center here April 4. Within minutes, more than 200 Air Force Reserve Citizen Airmen assigned to 560th RED HORSE Squadron Airmen unloaded all their heavy equipment to begin transforming an open field into a bare base operation.

RED HORSE stands for Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers. They surveyed the land, enabled generators, deployed water and latrine stations, erected shelters and a communications center.

“We’re tasked with heavy operations downrange,” said Senior Airman Schyler Carbone, an engineering assistant. “We deploy with all the heavy equipment to move massive amounts of land.”

The 560th is crucial to providing the foundation of structures necessary to run Air Force operations in any location. They have the ability to reshape the landscape and create an environment suitable for any need. “We can start from scratch with a remote area and we can build and airfield and infrastructure so we that we can begin airfield operations,” said Maj. Jason Pryor, 560th RH deputy commander.

Additionally, they can operate independently of any other form of assistance for up to 60 days without resupply. “We provide heavy construction and have the ability to rapidly mobilize,” said Staff Sgt. Michael Crump, a structural craftsman. “We can go into a remote location and take a project from start to finish.”

“Our main objective is to get our Airmen out into an environment where they can concentrate on their contingency skills and special capabilities for Red Horse,” said Lt. Col. Horace Jones, 560th RHS commander. “[This training] involves staying out in the field environment, being comfortable in field conditions and being able to do what we do best and that’s build a bare base, build tent city.”

Master Sgt. Clifford Thomas said that training in field conditions at McCrady allowed them to foster cooperation and build camaraderie. With more than 38 different Air Force Specialty Codes (AFSC), the logistics of organizing training for each profession can be challenging. The sheer number of 560th RH Airmen that gather together at each Unit Training Assembly weekend at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, means that they are usually split up by AFSC. In contrast, the training provided an opportunity to allow Airmen to live, work and learn together. “It really allows us to come together as one,” he said.