AFMC Command News

Expeditionary Combat Skills Training gives Airmen tools to succeed, survive

  • Published
  • By Holly L. Birchfield
  • 78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  As with sister services like the U.S. Army, many Airmen are going beyond the lines of their normal job duties while deployed in locations such as Afghanistan and Southwest Asia.

At Robins, the Expeditionary Combat Skills Training program equips Airmen to do that.

All Airmen deploying to combat zones such as Iraq who won't receive en route training must complete the program. Participants undergo a day and a half of classroom instruction and a day and a half of training in realistic war zone simulations carried out at Warrior Air Base, Robins' mock version of a deployed environment.

The course is among 10 types of training Airmen must have locally before deploying to combat zones, according to a recent tasking from Air Force headquarters.

According to Staff Sgt. Genis Membrila, an instructor in the 78th Security Forces Squadron here, more than 300 Airmen have come through the physically and mentally demanding course since its inception in late 2005.

Currently, four classes are set up for the rest of 2007. Class size ranges from 30 to 100 Airmen.

Sergeant Membrila said the training prepares Airmen to get from point A to point B safely in other ways, too.

"We do the convoy training out there (at Warrior Air Base) as well," she said. "We have blank ammunition and we have people come attack them. We set up scenarios to see how they're going to act or react to being fired upon or having an IED (improvised explosive device) explode."

The training scenarios are lifelike, with a public address system projecting sounds of heavy artillery and rocket propelled grenades exploding in the background as realistic events unfold.

"We fill the ditches with water and they're all muddy and they have to crawl through them with their weapons, so they're getting soaked," Sergeant Membrila said. "They have this obstacle course they have to crawl over, go around and come through. They also have to deal with the fact it's so loud out there with the gunfire going off (and) they can't hear each other to give their commands. So, they have to learn to focus, communicate and work as a team to get through all of the obstacles together."

Unit deployment managers use the Training and Scheduling System to fill unit training quotas and notify Airmen of their Expeditionary Combat Skills Training class dates. The Training and Scheduling System will notify Airmen and their supervisors of the requirement, as well as send an e-mail reminder one day prior to the class start date.

Airmen are required to attend the training every 20 months to keep sharp on combat survival skills. Failure to attend a scheduled class generates a no-show notification to supervisors. Airmen who finish the course receive a system-generated certificate of completion.