Kentucky Air Guard trains new Security Forces Augmentees

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Phil Speck
  • 123rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs Office
KENTUCKY AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, LOUISVILLE, Ky. --  The 123rd Security Forces Squadron recently held a five-day Security Forces Augmentee training event for 10 Airmen from different job specialties spanning multiple units within the 123rd Airlift Wing.

Security Forces Augmentee training is designed to take Airmen outside of their career fields and provide them with the skills to perform basic security functions in order to assist security forces during shortfalls in manning due to emergencies, contingencies or an increase of the Force Protection Condition, according to Capt. Jason Rayl, operations officer for the 123rd Security Forces Squadron.

Rayl explained that the augmentees would be utilized in emergency situations until fully qualified security forces members could be recalled.

"It's a good opportunity for members outside the security forces career field to participate in the security of the installation and gain a better understanding of how SFS operates in a home-station environment," he said.

The training includes a variety of basic security forces tasks and concepts, including weapons qualification, use of force, small-unit tactics, searches and seizures, and more. All of the lessons are important, from tactics training to searching techniques, and help augmentees carry out the SFS mission set of air base defense and the Kentucky Air Guard's mission of providing tactical airlift capabilities worldwide, Rayl said.

The augmentees also learned advanced weapons techniques, and hand-to-hand combat for self-defense and weapons retention -- all training that a normal Airman outside of Security Forces would not learn.

The final day of training consisted of augmentees being paired with fully trained security forces members on a variety of different security posts and being practically evaluated with different exercise scenarios to test the trainees' mastery of what they learned throughout the week.

At the completion of the course, a graduation ceremony was conducted in which the augmentees were presented certificates by the wing commander and unit challenge coins.

As the program grows, augmentees will receive additional on-the-job training to qualify them to work specialized security posts and entry control points to enhance overall security of the installation, Rayl said. They will also complete annual refresher training next year.

Airman 1st Class Benjamin Bohannon, a services technician for the 123rd Force Support Squadron, said the training was excellent.

"I enjoyed it -- it was very different than what I was used to," Bohannon said. "It's 13 weeks of tech school all rolled into one week. It was very intense, but also good training."

Craig Davis, unit training manager for the 123rd Security Forces Squadron, said the program pays substantial dividends for base security.

"Utilizing augmentees as a force-multiplier will enhance the security and well-being of all members on base," Davis said.

Lt. Col. George Imorde, commander of the 123d Security Forces Squadron, mentioned the difficulty of scheduling the training annually in a resource-constrained environment but highlighted its importance.

"DoD-wide, resources are tight," he said. "It took a collective effort to pull this training together. The combination of wing, group and squadron leadership support, coupled with energetic volunteerism and stellar non-commissioned officer initiative, is what ultimately made this a highly successful training event."

Security Forces will be recruiting both full-time Airmen and members of the traditional Guard force from across the wing to meet the Air Force and Air National Guard's needs during increases to Force Protection measures.

In light of recent attacks against military targets domestically and abroad, creating a trained and qualified augmentee force will ensure the overall safety and security of KYANG members and its assets, Imorde said.

Beginning in December, the 123rd Security Forces Squadron will be hold a new initial augmentee training program for volunteers who wish to participate and assist the entire wing. For more information, contact the 123d Security Forces Squadron.