Airman Jennifer Hunt of the 100th Security Forces Squadron at RAF Mildenhall, England, applies camouflage paint to her face during training near the base. (Ron Jensen / S&S)
Airman Jennifer Hunt of the 100th Security Forces Squadron at RAF Mildenhall, England, applies camouflage paint to her face during training near the base. (Ron Jensen / S&S)
Senior Airman Robert Horton of the 100th Security Forces Squadron peers from under his helmet Thursday during training near the base. (Ron Jensen / S&S)
Airman 1st Class Todd Mahan, with his back to the camera, plays the role of an insurgent as he races toward a convoy of airmen at a training area near RAF Mildenhall, England. (Ron Jensen / S&S)
BECK ROW, England — Senior Airman Robert Horton knew why he was sprawled on wet grass in the pouring rain Thursday morning, weapon in his hand and camouflage paint on his face.
“As soon as you put feet on the ground down there,” he said, “this is exactly what they want you to do.”
“Down there” is Iraq. Horton, a member of the 100th Security Forces Squadron at RAF Mildenhall, England, spent six months there last year.
On Thursday, he was training with other squadron mates — some Iraq veterans, some not — for an eventual return downrange. At a small training area a couple of miles from base, they raced through the rain to secure a perimeter around a convoy, confront an ambush and identify possible roadside bombs.
Horton said it fits the bill.
“It gets you in the mind-set you need,” he said.
The squadron developed the training two years ago, before the Air Force was asked to provide additional security to convoys in Iraq. Capt. Matthew Lillis said he and others combed through Army manuals to determine what should be taught.
“We try to stress them, get the fog of war in them,” he said.
Now, the training is routine as airmen take on duties more common to infantrymen. The course taught here has been copied and expanded elsewhere, Lillis said.
Lt. Col. Paul Harris, the squadron commander, said, “Years ago, we used to train and go, ‘Aw, this will probably never happen.’”
That’s true no longer, he said, as airmen return from Iraq with tales of firefights and ambushes.
The training builds confidence, he said. An airmen with confidence that he can handle any eventuality will probably succeed.
Senior Airman Seth Bohm agreed.
“You get a lot of confidence when you do training like this,” he said. “You learn a lot.”
The training is given every other week to groups usually of about 13, the size of a squad, which allows for personal training, Lillis said. The course lasts one week and the days are 12 hours long or longer.
“You can’t help but have it stick,” said Airman 1st Class Grace Garcia.
Senior Airman Dustin Goodwin, who teaches the course with Senior Airman Chris Whitmore, said the goal is to save lives.
“We have videos of real ambushes,” he said. “We show them the real deal, what can happen to anybody down there.”
The 100th Security Forces Squadron is about to send more than 40 people downrange. None of those training this day are among them, but everyone who will go has been through the course.
Harris said no one deploys unless he or she has been trained. It’s not easy, he said, for a commander to send people into harm’s way.
“I know the risks,” he said. “What I’ve got to do to live with myself is make sure they’re properly prepared.
“That’s something when you look at them and you know where they are going. This training helps my confidence level.”
