Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Daniel Heaton | Firefighters from the 127th Civil Engineer Squadron, Michigan Air National Guard,...... read more read more
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Michigan Air National Guard Airmen from three career fields honed their skills during a two-week training evolution in Germany in June.
Approximately 50 Airmen, primarily members of the 127th Civil Engineer Squadron at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan, participated in the training event, which was centered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The team included personnel from all three of the squadron’s primary functional areas – fire fighters, construction and emergency management – and included a few Airmen from other states who joined the Michigan Guardsmen to capitalize on the opportunity.
“This deployment for training also gave us an opportunity to synch up with our active-duty counterparts, which provides both sides of that equation to learn from each other,” said Chief Master Sgt. Lyle Black, the senior enlisted leader for the 127th CES.
During the two-week DFT, the CES firefighters spent the bulk of their working hours at a fire simulation facility at the base, conducting training on a range of rescue and firefighting scenarios in structures and in response to an aircraft crash or other incident.
“We have a number of younger Airmen who just joined our squadron,” said Staff Sgt. Matthew Jarecki, one of the 127th firefighters who was overseeing the training. “This gives us the opportunity to work together, conducting exercises that build on one another so we all understand who needs to do what in different scenarios.”
The training also provided an opportunity for junior Airmen to get “signed off” – or certified – on the operation of a variety of equipment.
Among those getting signed off was Airman Basic Dylan Tipken, who joined the 127 CES about a month prior to the Germany trip, after completing Air Force Basic Military Training and his initial firefighter technical school.
“I think tech school gives you that base level of information,” said Tipken, who graduated from high school in 2023. “Getting out here on this exercise, I’m getting to see how these guys operate, how they work together to get the job done.”
Also valuable, said Senior Master Sgt. Wesley Cooper, the senior member of the firefighting team on the trip, was seeing both newer Airmen and more experienced members of the team coming together as they spent time together both on and off the job.
“That’s really an underappreciated benefit of this type of training experience,” he said.
During the deployment for training, the Michigan Airmen were housed together and took their meals together at a training compound at Ramstein, further re-enforcing the team building aspects of the trip.
Master Sgt. Justin Fletcher, superintendent of the heating, ventilation and cooling section for the 127 CES said his team were able to broaden their skills by working outside their specific specialty, with the HVAC Airmen assisting the team’s Structures shop building walls and hanging doors in a classroom area.
“The people we are working with, point at something and ask if we can handle it. Then we put our heads together and get it done,” he said. “That’s how I like to work – everyone chipping in to get the job done.”
| Date Taken: | 06.26.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.02.2024 08:51 |
| Story ID: | 474928 |
| Location: | RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, DE |
| Web Views: | 34 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Michigan Airmen Hone Skills in Germany, by SMSgt Daniel Heaton, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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