Security forces train ... Texas style

  • Published
  • By Tech.Sgt. Brian Wahlstedt
  • 920th Security Forces Squadron
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Recently members of the 920th Security Forces Squadron at Patrick Air Force Base, participated in an intensive 15-day training course held at Ft. Wolters, Texas. The course, known in the Air Force Reserve as "Patriot Defender," was conducted by the 610th SFS and is a tri-annual sustainment or pre-deployment requirement for anyone in the security forces career field. Air Force active duty also conducts this training at several locations across the country under different names however; each location utilizes the same lesson plans from the Headquarters Security Forces Center based at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

The course constitutes several core tasks of deployed SFS Airmen to include land navigation, vehicle operations, building clearing and interacting with local nationals of various countries. This training provides the building blocks for Airmen to base their skills on and a refresher for those who have deployed before. The reasoning behind making this course mandatory throughout the Air Force is standardization within the career field. Security force troops often deploy with other bases and units, so locally based training plans are not the most effective and can often lead to confusion on the battlefield.
 
While there, members were in simulated field conditions which meant they lived in open barracks, ate a hot breakfast, Meals Ready to Eat for lunch, and had a hot dinner. Members stayed within the immediate area and were prohibited from leaving the training location which simulated a real deployment with no days offs. The days were long and generally consisted of classroom training in the morning, followed by practical exercises to evaluate the lesson learned. The end of the course was a two-day field training exercise which evaluated all of the training received over the 13 days. The FTX required securing a village, setting up a control center and posts, interacting with a local "foreign" (played by cadre) population, and establishing day and night patrols both on foot and vehicle mounted.

Training like this helps prepare security forces "Airmen" for deployments and combat operations in any environment worldwide.