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Security Forces sharpen skills at Patriot Defender exercise

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Dustin Doyle
  • Air Force Reserve Command Public Affairs
CAMP SWIFT, Texas --  As I hunkered down in my wooden shack, I could hear the soft crunching of 30 pairs of boots moving through the woods towards me. I leveled my M-4 carbine on the sandbags propped in the window and waited for the first “target” to breach the tree line. 

The loud boom of a simulated grenade blast caught me off guard. Before I could blink, firing teams emerged from the trees and entered the building across from me. As the short blasts of M-4s and steady pounding of M-60 and M-240 heavy machine guns filled the air, the shrill of MILES gear going off announced the “dead and wounded". It was only a matter of time before our small group of opposing forces would be overrun. 

In a moment of silence between the gunfire and yelling of commands, I could hear the troops preparing to force their way into my building. I crouched down and waited. One shot was all it took to drop the first person through the door. Before they could regroup, I bounded out the side door. 

As I ran for cover, I managed to pick off another one. But as I approached the woods, muzzle blasts from multiple troops buried in the tree line lit me up. My MILES gear sounded its shrill tone. I was toast. 

For me, participating in this simulated attack was an insight into the world of security forces. For the Air Force reservists at the exercise, this was as close to real as it gets during training. 

About 120 Reserve security forces members traveled to Camp Swift, Texas, for two weeks of intense combat training April 30-May 13. 

One of the three Patriot Defender exercises held this year, the Air Force Reserve Command training exercise awards three-year sustainment training credit to all security forces personnel who attend. 

“We’re training and gearing our forces more for a forward combat deployment type situation,” said Maj. Wes White, 610th Security Forces Squadron operations officer and exercise commander for Patriot Defender. “We teach them sustainment training with a twist. By relaying actual combat experience from the instructor cadre, we help them become better prepared for deployed operations. Of my full-time instructor cadre, 87 percent have deployed into the AOR, and 73 percent have deployed multiple times.” 

Led by a team of reservists from the 610th SFS, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, Fort Worth, Texas, the exercise follows a three-phase approach of classroom training, a two-day Military Operations in Urban Terrain exercise, and a three-day field training exercise. 

During the first phase of classroom training, students refresh skills ranging from vehicle searches and weapons training to land navigation and convoy operations. 

One of the more popular training tools during the first phase is the Virtual Convoy Operations Trainer, provided by the Texas Army National Guard. Using virtual reality, the VCOT allows up to nine students at a time to navigate a virtual convoy down the streets of Baghdad. 

“It’s good training,” said Staff Sgt. Ryan Baumgartner from the 445th SFS, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. “We need to be aware of different techniques and different ways of doing things.” 

He said the realistic convoy and patrol training were well-liked because they are actual applications that could be used in the desert. 

The second phase of Patriot Defender takes place at the St. Elijah MOUT facility at Fort Hood, Texas. Early in the first day, students train in building clearing, squad movements and building defense in an urban environment. 

At the end of this training period, each of the three student flights – consisting of about 44 security forces Airmen each – are given the practical exercise of clearing and securing a building occupied by opposing forces played by the cadre. The next morning, roles are reversed and the students set up defenses to protect their building from the attacking OPFOR. 

“The MOUT training is something we added to better prepare students for a deployed urban environment,” said Major White. “In the past, security forces were mainly base and airfield defense. We’re trying to evolve from just a base security standpoint and encompass a more deployable-type combat capability.” 

In the final phase, the three-day field training exercise focused on patrol, convoy and main defensive line tactics. The students use everything learned in the previous week to accomplish the various tasks and missions on their daily operations order, while at the same time guarding themselves and their base against attacks from the OPFOR. 

“I sincerely hope that the students have learned valuable skills that, when they deploy, will help them become a more effective security forces member and hopefully keep them alive and the base safe in those dangerous situations,” said Major White. 

Senior Airman Thomas Kowalski, a student from Fort Worth’s 610th SFS, is confident the training has done exactly that. 

This is some of the best training available, said Airman Kowalski. 

"The 610th is a highly regarded unit in the Reserve. They have very experienced people. Many of the cadre are prior service so you get a little bit of training fulfillments from the Marines, Army and Navy. That’s neat because we get the Air Force tactics, techniques, and procedures, but we also get a little spice thrown in there as well.” 

In addition to training about 350 security forces members annually, the Patriot Defender exercise series involves people from other career fields. During the April 30-May 13 training, two medics, three chaplains and 10 services people took part in and provided support for the exercise. (AFRC News Service)