Photo By Staff Sgt. Duane Morgan | Tech. Sgt. Jonathan Trump (Left) and Staff Sgt. Thom Collins of the 174th Attack Wing...... read more read more
Over 77 Airmen from the New York National Guard’s 174th Attack Wing (ATKW) attended Deployment for Training (DFT) Aug 12-24 at Lajes Air Base, Azores, Portugal.
A DFT delivers joint training opportunities to increase deployment readiness, in addition to providing key services , such as, improving base infrastructure.
Eight different civil engineering squadrons from various air bases participated in the DFT. From May to August, each unit spent approximately two weeks training. The 174th ATKW happened to be the last base in the eight-unit rotation to help finish projects around Lajes Air Base.
Many of the big projects were taken care of by the units that visited prior. However, there were still several projects to be taken care of.
Projects included HVAC replacing nonfunctioning AC units, and the Communications (Comm) Squadron putting new ports into renovated buildings on base. Civil Engineering (CE) were able to torch-cut I-beams from a torn-down building as well as work alongside the Portuguese and Romanian Air Force for a building demolition.
“The Portuguese have a requirement to have multiple nations on some of their projects,” said Senior Master Sgt. Anthony Scuderi, 174th Attack Wing’s Installation Emergency Manager. “This was just a great opportunity for some of our heavy equipment operators and other trades to work with some of our partner nations.”
Members from the Force Support Squadron (FSS), Comm, and Services were able to get a closer look into what CE does during a DFT.
"This is the first DFT where we've had other sections outside of CE with us, and it's been a good experience," said Senior Master Sgt. Bryan Thuman, Senior Enlisted Leader for 174th Civil Engineering Squadron. "Having other sections come out and see what CE does, the hard work we put into each project, and having them help felt really good. It was great collaborative work.”
The 174th Fire Department was also able to get training done during the DFT. Fire training included vehicle extraction, building live fire training, aircraft live fire training, and high angle training.
Members from FSS and Services also assisted the 174th Fire Department with their high-angle training.
"Being a part of this DFT taught me a lot about being flexible," said Senior Airman Mackenzie Nichols, a personnelist with the 174th ATKW FSS. "Being able to help the other shops was a lot of fun for me."
Once the duty day was over, Airmen could get off base and experience the local community.
"That was something that I wanted the Airmen to take away from this trip," said Thuman. "I like that different shops could interact with each other because that's something that we don't always get to do on a drill weekend. In addition, I would like them to experience the island's culture. I wanted to make sure that no one left the island saying that they wished they would've been able to do something. I think working hard and having some leisure time is very important."
Both Scuderi and Thuman credited the mission's success to the ATKW members' hard work during the DFT.
| Date Taken: | 08.27.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.08.2024 16:25 |
| Story ID: | 479594 |
| Location: | SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 41 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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