Photo By Tech. Sgt. Ryan Green | Tech. Sgt. Eric Harala briefs other Airmen from the 349th Civil Engineer Squadron as...... read more read more
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MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, Calif. – Readiness is priority one for today’s Reserve Citizen Airmen. It is training that hones in on the special skills necessary for individual Air Force career fields. Opportunity to train in the field targets goals the 349th Civil Engineer Squadron (CES) must achieve during Operation Bivouac held this year from July 22-26 at March ARB, California.
“As an Air Force reservist, we don't get the opportunity to use our skills every day, so it's nice to get out there, get hands on and actually apply what we've been taking our time to learn,” said Senior Airman Elizabeth Solomon, 349th CES, Travis Air Force Base, California.
Operation Bivouac provided 100 Airmen with both the chance to improve individual readiness, and opportunity to perform in non-permissive environment, similar to a deployed location.
“Our field training event was designed to keep up with the mandatory Air Force civil engineer training,” said Capt. Guy Hopes, 349th CES and Operation Bivouac troop commander. “But it's also imperative that our Airmen know what to do when deploying as a combat wing. It's one thing to take an online training course, it's another to live the training and to be the trainer. To see where those pinch points and data gaps are, as well as receive real time feedback with subject matter experts with many years of experience.”
To make the field training event as realistic as possible, a great deal of planning and coordination went into the operation. The decision was made to hold the exercise at March ARB instead of 349th CES home station of Travis AFB. It was a realistic opportunity for Airmen to use new equipment not readily available to the squadron.
“We are very fortunate the 163rd National Guard regional training site has all the assets our Airmen typically don't touch up at Travis,” said Hopes. “We really wanted to use homegrown resources, simulate a deployed environment and emphasize that 72-hour ready now mindset. Anything that we can do to help Airmen prevent loss of life, damage to equipment and mission stoppage. That's why we're here.”
Equipment was not the only resource Airmen had access to during Operation Bivouac. They were also given the chance to work with other units at March ARB from a variety of military backgrounds such as active, reserve and the National Guard.
“We were given the opportunity to get that hands-on training and the opportunity to work with our host team here at March, who joined us and gave us the opportunity to use their equipment, knowledge and facilities,” said Tech. Sgt. Jamie Perkins with 349th CES. “We had the chance to work seamlessly with each other, our own teams, understand our limitations and be able to overcome those limitations in a training environment without interruptions.”
The emphasis on readiness was constructed to provide members of the 349th CES with a scenario to simulate a tasking on a moment’s notice to a compromised location where they were needed to perform.
“For me, if I'm able to teach someone and I can help them out whenever, that’s a good learning opportunity,” said Senior Airman John Soriano III, 349th CES. “I feel like I can teach others and have more confidence in my own abilities and performance.”
Despite the limited timeframe, many Airmen were also grateful for the chance to enhance and expand upon their skillset before returning home to Travis AFB.
“Getting hands-on experience with the things I've learned already and getting practice with the things that I haven't done has been a great opportunity,” stated Solomon. “I’ve enjoyed getting to do my job, plus what I've been spending all my time learning and planning.”
| Date Taken: | 07.26.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.04.2024 13:27 |
| Story ID: | 477743 |
| Location: | MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 173 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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