Security forces Airmen train for complex missions

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Susan Stout
  • 944th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Enemy forces have embedded themselves in a local village and are using this location as their headquarters for continual attacks on key war-making capabilities throughout the area of responsibility. 

This is the exercise scenario 944th Security Forces “Desert Dawgs” Squadron members played out during March 11 in base housing. 

Three different squads were tasked with searching the “town” and clearing out enemy forces they encountered. One squad acted as the “enemy” and set up in the housing area ready to defend “their territory.” Another squadron performed as unarmed villagers and the final squadron was the search and clear element. All squads rotated and had the opportunity to “play” in all three roles. 

In this scenario, civilian personnel occupied the village so the search team was responsible for clearing all the buildings, eliminating enemy forces and safeguarding civilian personnel. 

According to Maj. Kenneth Bruce, 944th SFS commander, the efforts of Master Sgts. Kevin Perlak, Mike Cota and Mickle Mauerhan resulted in successful, comprehensive training for security forces members in Operation DAWG POUND. 

“Tactical urban maneuver training of this nature is imperative for today’s security forces Airmen due to the complexities of today’s real world security missions,” Major Bruce said. “Current mission tempo dictates that we arm our security forces members with the widest range of training possible to better prepare them for the obstacles they face during their deployments.” 

This training was key to enabling security forces members to adapt to the ever-changing responsibilities of their mission, according to Chief Master Sgt. Mark Humbles, 944th SFS security forces manager. 

“The security forces mission is continually taking on new responsibilities and it is our intention to proactively address those new responsibilities through training of this caliber,” Chief Humbles said. “We are dedicated to preparing our security forces Airmen for these continuous challenges and changes. We owe it to our members to make their training as realistic and pertinent as possible.”