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Creek Defender began work on producing a different kind of security forces Airman Monday.
This Airman will be more schooled on improvised explosive devices,
convoy procedures, mobile defense, operations in urban terrain and the
enemies they face downrange.
“This is a step toward the future,” sad Maj. James Lowe, 786th Security
Forces Squadron commander. “Security forces’ role has changed since the
beginning of the Global War on Terrorism; our enemy has changed – our
training had to change, too.”
Creek Defender, a training center for security forces Airmen preparing
to deploy, scrapped the course curriculum in November and recreated it
from scratch. Instructors wrote more than 35 new lesson plans based on
feedback and after action reports from Airmen who trained at Creek
Defender and then deployed. The plans base training on the most
contemporary tactics, techniques and procedures.
The overhaul, which was completed in a month, also discarded training
made obsolete by current threats in the Center Command area of
responsibility, such as static defense.
The new course will leave Airmen prepared for any deployed environment
and any current threats encountered by deployed forces, said Senior
Master Sgt. Patrick Herdman, Creek Defender Regional Training Center
superintendent.
By integrating only necessary training objectives, the course shaved
four days of training off the old 18-day curriculum, which is
significant to Airmen attending the course.
“Students (are) physically and mentally drained by the end of the
course,” said Sergeant Herdman. “The average day spans 12 to 14 hours
of high-impact training.”
The new course began Monday, but Creek Defender instructors don’t
expect to know the results of the overhaul for at least a year.
Instructors say they will be looking for new after action reports to
judge how the course prepared Airmen. Creek Defender now plans to
update the curriculum every six months, as security forces Airmen
return from their deployment and provide feedback to instructors.
“These students will be better prepared to lead and successfully meet
our emerging roles in a deployed environment,” said Sergeant Herdman.
“Our goal is to produce the best trained security forces in the Air
Force.”
