100th SFS Defenders help prep RAF Regiment for Afghanistan tour

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Thomas Trower
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  The sweet smell of diesel exhaust began to fill the pitch-black air as Airmen started their Humvees an hour before daylight and began to convoy out to their rendevous point with a flight of Royal Air Force Regiment infantrymen in the middle of a 30,000-acre range.

The first full field day of Exercise Enduring Shield 03/10 had begun with 15 Squadron, RAF Regiment, and the 100th Security Forces Squadron on Stanford Training Area Sept. 7. The exercise was held Sept. 5-10.

With the countdown clock for an Afghanistan deployment nearing zero, the British servicemembers were determined to demonstrate their combat proficiencies to the RAF Regiment force commander, and the U.S. Air Force's role was to placehold the positions of U.S. Marines who would serve with the regiment on the deployment.

"We're doing the final prep for our tour to Afghanistan. We've been training real hard up to this point, and this is where outside agencies look at what we do and give us criticism or appraises," said RAF Cpl. Andy Branston, 34 Squadron. "Where we're going to be, we'll be working quite closely with U.S. Marines, so we thought we'd need to know what [American forces] are thinking so we can work accordingly."

The American Airmen put together a squad to help train the RAF and provide them interaction with American forces before they get to Afghanistan, said Tech. Sgt. Tisha Bate, 100th SFS.

"We responded to personnel digging an [improvised explosive device] with small arms, a mass casualty situation and a village where we encountered a suicide bomber," said the sergeant who organized U.S. ground operations. "We diffused each situation and loaded the casualties onto an [RAF] Chinook."

"As we worked with the British RAF Regiment, they could get a feel for working with joint forces, but we also got some really good training ourselves," said Airman Isaiah Mosley, 100th SFS.

Spread throughout the World War II training area, more than 20 Airmen embedded with British ground forces to accomplish their missions. One of which was conducted in a 12.5-acre replicalle of an Afghan village. Complete with a market, mosque and homes, the village is populated with numerous Afghan civilians.

After a simulated IED is detonated, "injuring" multiple inhabitants, the servicemembers, both American and British, began to treat the victims, each with some type of actual amputation.

After the casualties were triaged, treated to the highest extent possible and prepared for transport, an RAF Chinook was called in to provide medical evacuation for the patients. Once it had departed, the scenario was finished by shouting, "Stop, stop, stop," by exercise cadre members and feedback was provided to everyone involved.

"I think the Americans have gone brilliant out here," said Corporal Branston. "They were all over the casualties, and they did exactly as they were trained and told."

"The feedback from the cadre was really good," said Sergeant Bate. "This is what we train for every day."

Later in the day, at a mock forward operating base, Airmen joined yet another flight of infantrymen to assist in providing security for the patrol base and respond to nearby incidents.

After chasing down a group of suspicious individuals and engaging in a firefight with insurgents near the base, the joint patrol headed back for their camp.

Surrounded by concrete walls with strategically placed towers and observations points, a sole building sheltered the base residents from the elements. Inside, infantrymen and Airmen alike tried to catch some rest after pulling security throughout the day and night.

The stone and brick walls seemed so dated that it was a surprise they could suspend the second floor. As the sun set on the horizon, it let way to dark shadows in the electricless building and day one of training began to wind down.

Little did the residents know what was awaiting them throughout the night and the remainder of the exercise.