48th Civil Engineers got BEEF

Photo By Staff Sgt. Jessi Roth | A U.S. Air Force Airman assigned to the 48th Civil Engineering Squadron assumes a defensive fighting position during a readiness training at Royal Air Force Feltwell, Nov. 4, 2020. CES Airmen must maintain the ability to operate in all contingency environments through teamwork and practical application. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jessi Monte)  

RAF LAKENHEATH, SUFFOLK, UNITED KINGDOM

11.13.2020

Story by Airman 1st Class Jessi Roth 

48th Fighter Wing

ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England -- Airmen from the 48th Civil Engineering Squadron recently completed its monthly Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force training at Royal Air Force Feltwell.

Prime BEEF is a CES training event conducted to ensure members remain proficient in executing mission essential tasks in a deployed environment.

“The purpose of the training is to maintain readiness to fully support the beddown of personnel and aircraft,” said Tech. Sgt. Fariht Gomez, 48th CES Prime BEEF manager. “Our capabilities include airbase site surveys, establishing bare base camps, operations, and utility system installations.”

This month's training introduced a new program called BUCK-I, or Basic Unit Combat Knowledge & Instruction. The intent is to provide 48th CES Airmen with a tailorable and operationally focused experience designed to prepare them for operational deployment missions, but with a goal to have future classes be customizable to unit-specific topics.

“We are aware how valuable time is to each Airman, so we combined multiple courses and several computer-based trainings into a one day course that maximizes training effectiveness while minimizing training commitment’” said Master Sgt. Josh Brown, 48th CES readiness and emergency management superintendent.

The program covers all of the basics such as chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear training, self aid buddy care and other foundational skills. Different units can then add in additional exercises that are specific to their required duties, such as Agile Combat Employment Training, to help create multi-capable Airmen.

“Operations in a contested environment are not the same for Civil Engineering Airmen and Maintenance Airmen,” said Brown. “We have to ensure we train every Airman for the operations they will face.”

The ultimate goal for the 48th Fighter Wing is to create a Liberty Warfighter Center that focuses on effectively preparing all RAF Lakenheath personnel to carry out their duties in a contested environment, ready and postured for worldwide response to combat, disaster and humanitarian efforts.

“Our threat and how we respond to that threat is constantly evolving and our Airmen deserve better than a standard training platform,” said Brown. “BUCK-I is our attempt to evolve combat training across the wing and we look forward to working with personnel across the installation to make RAF Lakenheath the premier training location in the U.S. Air Force.”
Story was originally posted to the Base RAF Lakenheath website on Nov. 13, 2020 and may be found at https://www.lakenheath.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2516664/48th-civil-engineers-got-beef

• Date Taken: 11.13.2020
• Date Posted: 11.13.2020 11:30
• Story ID: 382954
• Location: RAF LAKENHEATH, SUFFOLK, GB