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Senior Airman Ahl Raym Tolrio and Senior Airman Malcolm Stone, both assigned to the 823rd RED HORSE Squadron, sift asphalt as it is being laid July 12, 2012, on Aiken Street on Shaw Air Force Base, S.C. The 823rd RHS is an Air Combat Command asset assigned to the Ninth Air Force that operates out of Hurlburt Field, Fla. RED HORSE stands for Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineer.
Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers is a self sufficient heavy construction and engineer organization with more than 30 Air Force specialties.
RED HORSE is comprised of civil engineers, communications, supply personnel, medical technicians and security forces members, among others, and enables the Air Force to respond with highly mobile civil engineer forces, supporting contingency and special operations worldwide.
“The mesh of so many different jobs allow (RED HORSE) to be self sufficient and complete our primary mission, which is construction,” said Chief Master Sgt. Mark Lewis, 823rd RED HORSE Squadron superintendent.
The 823rd RED HORSE Squadron is assigned to Air Combat Command and is an associate unit on Hurlburt Field, Fla. This squadron is one of four active-duty RED HORSE units in the Air Force. The 823rd RED HORSE Squadron is on a rotation in Ramstein, assisting European Command with contingencies and humanitarian missions throughout Europe.
“The majority of the 823rd is still in the continental United States and comes (through) Rota Naval Station, Spain,” Lewis said. “From there, they will head to wherever the mission requires, generally in Eastern European countries.”
The primary mission of RED HORSE units is to build bare-bases, support contingency operations and combat operations. Squadrons deploy together to support the specific operations at hand.
“RED HORSE units deploy as an entire unit unlike most of the Air Force, this way we can stay self sufficient,” said Capt. Elizabeth Bostick, RED HORSE logistics flight commander. “I love being a part of RED HORSE because it allows me to do something that I usually couldn’t be a part of — logistics readiness.”
