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DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. -- As the Air Force prepares for future operations in the Indo-Pacific region, the 355th Civil Engineer Squadron played a significant role in standing up the first-ever Pacific theater aligned 11th Combat Air Base Squadron and enabling the mission of the 11th Air Task Force.
From concept to execution, CE Airmen have helped lay the foundation, both figuratively and literally, for how the Air Force will conduct force presentation going forward.
“It’s one thing to be tasked with a mission,” said Senior Master Sgt. Robert Davis, 11th Combat Air Base Squadron director of operations. “It’s another to help build the playbook while you’re running the play. That’s exactly what our engineers did.”
The 11th CABS, which stood up in October 2024, began with 259 Airmen from 64 career fields and nine units. This was an unprecedented mix of skill sets and career fields brought together under a single mission. Their work in support of the 11th CABS reflects a larger transformation taking place across the force. As the Air Force seeks to outpace peer competitors and operate within contested environments, engineers are no longer simply “fixers.” They are now force multipliers tasked not just with sustaining infrastructure, but with building agile airpower at the edge of the fight.
“CE used to be about fixing water heaters and roofs,” said Davis. “Now it’s about defending bases, integrating with other career fields and understanding how your skill set helps generate combat power across the theater.”
Based on the Chief of Staff of the Air Force’s guidance for task organization, the team structured themselves into three distinct flights: force protection, sustainment and airfield operations, with civil engineers being the only career field to embed within all three flights.
“You’ll find our engineers everywhere,” said Senior Master Sgt. Eric Partlow, 11th CABS director of airfield operations. “Fire and explosive ordnance disposal in airfield ops, emergency managers in force protection, and most of our CE Airmen sustaining the base. That cross-functional integration is essential because CE brings the diverse skill sets required to make the mission happen.”
Under the Air Force Force Generation model, units are given 18 months to prepare for deployment. The 11th CABS had only nine.
“That timeline was cut in half,” Davis said. “We completely lost the six-month reset phase, and we’re even losing part of the certification phase. But we didn’t let that stop us, we just executed.”
The team built and executed a compressed training plan to ensure Airmen met all 61 core readiness tasks. These were validated through supplemental training and three field training exercises: FTX one at Fort Bliss, Texas, focusing on force protection; FTX two at Tyndall AFB, Florida, centered on sustainment; and FTX three in Korea, which emphasized integrating with a mission generation force element to support joint and allied partners in generating airpower while in a contested chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear environment.
“In Korea, we got to show we could deploy, support the mission generation force element, and launch aircraft, like F-16s and CH-53s, with limited resources,” Partlow said. “We even pulled fire trucks and other gear from war reserve material stocks. That’s not easy to do, but it worked, and it proved our concept.”
The CABS effort also earned top marks as the inspector general team gave the unit a 97% effectiveness rating at the conclusion of its FTX.
The civil engineer contribution went far beyond construction and utilities. CE Airmen taught essential survival and base sustainment skills, from land navigation and water purification to airfield damage repair.
“If I had to break it down, CE did two big things,” Partlow said. “We increased everyone’s chances of survival, and we made it possible to sustain the base and project airpower. Without that, you’re not fighting a war.”
The civil engineer career field is widely diverse and cultivates Airmen that already come with a multi-capable mindset due to the nature of their jobs. Whether plumbers, electricians or firefighters, CE specialists often need to understand overlapping roles to respond effectively to emergencies or keep critical infrastructure operational.
“That mindset made the transition into Mission Ready Airmen pretty natural for us,” Partlow said. “Our Airmen are super motivated. They're really excited to learn other people's jobs. Their level of enthusiasm, excitement and overall competence as we move forward allows them to improvise, push the limits, make ethical decisions at their level.”
The training in Korea gave CE and the 11th CABS team a realistic glimpse into what future combat operations in the Pacific might look like: dispersed operations, austere environments and the absence of well-established support systems.
“Gone are the days of deploying into the well-maintained bases of the Middle East,” Davis said. “In the Pacific, you’ll be on the move, improvising, and surviving in environments that push you to your limits. It’s hard, but it’s necessary.”
“You have to be willing to build the plane while flying it,” Partlow said. “We’re doing something no one’s done before, and that means making decisions with imperfect information, leaning on the commander’s intent, and leading from wherever you are.”
Throughout the process, the CE squadron conducted a thorough assessment of its strengths and limiting factors, communicating these findings to leadership in order to inform the transition from traditional Air Force deployment models to the anticipated requirements of future Deployable Combat Wings.
“Somebody’s got to prove this concept works,” Partlow said. “We’re laying the concrete so that other people have a smoother walk. We’re showing what the future of combat support looks like. ‘Engineers lead the way,’ is more than a motto. It’s what we do. And I couldn’t be more proud of the team that’s doing it first.”
| Date Taken: | 04.22.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.22.2025 17:42 |
| Story ID: | 495925 |
| Location: | DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 17 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Engineers lead the way: 355th Civil Engineer Squadron sets the standard for agile combat support, by SrA Jasmyne Bridgers-Matos, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
