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Fort Worth civil engineers learn land navigation

  • Published
  • By SrA Jeremy Roman
  • 301st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
FORT WOLTERS, Texas --  Traditional Reservists and air reserve technicians from the 301st Civil Engineer Squadron participated in land navigation training at Fort Wolters, Texas, July 23.

Master Sergeant Jose L. Guajardo, 301st CES Emergency Manager NCO in change and Combat Readiness evaluator, coordinated this training as a first step in a three-year developmental CES "readiness" program. 
    
"This program came online about a month ago," Guajardo said. "It's a joint unit effort which will prepare first responders to do their jobs during a time of crisis."
First responders, in this case, would include Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Security Forces Squadron, Fire Department and Emergency managers. As an example, if a military plane crashed, this team would work together by surveying the site and disarming any munitions, eliminating any fires caused by the crash and redirecting any traffic that might otherwise be in harms way. 
     
In this training scenario, the emergency managers simulated a deployment into an "unmarked territory" where they used their equipment to map out locations while traveling in off-road vehicles through unknown terrain at Fort Wolters, an Army National Guard facility.
     
"The purpose of this training is to see who can establish themselves both as a leader and follower," he said. "We also wanted to see how they adapt to the environmental elements and who could identify both potentially hazardous locations and areas that can serve as assets during a time of crisis."
     
Instructors went out and hid ten orange cones for the participants to find. These cones were strategically placed in locations which forced them to use all the tools at their disposal, such as mapping tools and 4-wheel Polaris Ranger off-road vehicles.
     
"The objective for this exercise is to find the cones, notate their positions using military grid reference coordinates, identify potential risks or hazards, and gather intel on possible assets to report back to the chain of command," said Guajardo. "This is not a speed drill but a proficiency drill."
     
This training allowed emergency managers not only the opportunity to communicate in a team environment but to demonstrate what they have learned through previous computer-based training sessions. These outdoor opportunities are important to traditional Reservists because of their availability constraints when compared to active duty. 
     
"You can't physically experience 100-hundred degrees, foreign terrain, or time and cultural differences on a computer," said Tech. Sgt. Roy Simmons, 301st CES Emergency manager. "To face that in conjunction with physically doing your work will help those who have never deployed or haven't deployed in a long time."
     
Guajardo agreed saying computer-based training, though important because of the knowledge you gain, cannot substitute for the hands-on experience you get from participating in exercises like these. He also added how vital this training is for their traditional Reservists because they learn to communicate with other responders and adapt to environments they may face when deployed before they go to war ... not during.
     
"It made the CBT part come alive," said Tech Sgt. Christopher Burke, 301st CES Emergency Manager. "It's one thing to see it on a computer screen ... but now that I've actually done it, I retain what I've learned better."
     
Tech. Sgt Burke, a 17-year veteran added, "It's probably the best overall training I've had in a long time." 

Future steps in the CES overall readiness program look to include an active chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear response exercise, which would consist of tests in response time from activation, accuracy of checklists and donning level A suits. Level A suits are fully encapsulated suits with a self-contained breathing apparatus of approximately 60 minutes of oxygen, which first responders would use when dealing with hazardous materials, anthrax, or other biological agents.