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20th FW gains realistic combat experience

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Zade Vadnais
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  Explosions and gunfire are heard across Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, as unidentified enemy forces continue to attack the installation for the third consecutive day.

Airmen calmly and confidently perform emergency medical procedures on their injured wingmen as emergency responders track down and neutralize the hostile individuals responsible for the assault. Not far from this scene, 20th Fighter Wing Airmen in positions ranging from aircraft maintenance to legal services continue to meet their daily requirements despite the current threat.

None of the service members on the installation are in any danger; the explosions, gunfire, and injuries were all simulated in support of operational readiness exercise Weasel Victory 17-07, which took place May 15-17.

“Operational readiness exercises give commanders the opportunity to gauge their unit’s wartime effectiveness,” said Dustin Campbell, 20th FW ORE planning team member. “During the exercise, the wing commander and the inspection team are assessing the wing’s capabilities and trying to identify limiting factors; if we were tasked to go downrange, where would we break? These exercises help us identify and fix those areas.”

The 20th FW holds OREs twice each year, providing a variety of scenarios to test the installation’s combat readiness and allow units to practice their specific wartime roles. During the exercises, wing- and group-level leadership representatives form a Crisis Action Team in the Emergency Operations Center, where they can keep track of and make decisions based on “big picture” information such as the total number of injured Airmen and the location of simulated attacks, suspicious individuals, and unexploded ordnance.

“It’s about muscle memory; we try to make the scenarios as realistic as possible so when you are deployed downrange you already know how to react,” said Campbell. “When you hear a siren go off downrange, muscle memory will kick in and you will know what to do.”

During OREs, 20th FW Airmen in the sky, on the ground at Shaw, and at a simulated deployed environment at Poinsett Electronic Combat Range near Wedgefield, South Carolina, respond to simulated attacks from other 20th FW members acting as opposing forces.

“We basically kick off all the scenarios during the exercise,” said Tech. Sgt. Scott Williams, 20th Maintenance Group Air Force Repair and Exchange Program NCO in charge and opposing forces member during the ORE. “We follow a very strict script. Whether we’re setting off air cannons to simulate mortar attacks or trying to gain unauthorized entry to a secure building, our actions drive the scenarios and allow participants to practice as if it were actually happening.

“Anyone who doesn’t understand why these exercises are so beneficial will realize pretty quickly the first time they deploy.”

Though 20th FW Airmen often work long, busy hours during OREs, the experience they acquire through such engaging and intensive training provides them with the tools necessary to succeed in future contingencies and prepares them to effectively and appropriately react to any threat, any time, anywhere.

“When you participate in these exercises, you’re practicing for the big game,” said Campbell. “No one makes it to the Super Bowl without a little practice; we help Shaw practice to the best of its abilities.”