Security Forces bring home a title

Published July 31, 2007
By Staff Sgt. Connie L. Bias
92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- It's 4 a.m., and you're running up a steep six-mile hill. Or perhaps that was yesterday, and today you're diving for bricks and running sprints in a pool. Better yet - you've made your morning jog a bit more interesting by strapping on a gas mask and flak vest.

At the onset, this type of training does not sound like fun. Three Fairchild Airmen, though, have endured such exercises for the past six months in preparation for Air Mobility Command's Rodeo 2007, which was held at McChord Air Force Base, Wash., July 22-28.

The training paid off. By the time the Rodeo competition was over, Senior Airmen Lonnie Bell and David Jones, and Staff Sgt. Levi Wilson, representing the 92nd Security Forces Squadron, had claimed their place as the Best Combat Tactics Team. And in case you're underestimating their feat ... More than 40 teams and 2,500 people from the Air Force, Air Force Reserve and allied nations participated in Rodeo, some of those participants returning competitors. All three of Fairchild's SFS team members were first-time participants at Rodeo. On top of that, one of team members, Airman Jones, competed as an augmentee - he's not even a tech-school trained security forces member.

"As far as security forces knowledge goes, Airman Jones had to start from scratch," said Bob Gambrel, 92nd Security Forces Squadron and Rodeo Team coach. "He was already a great athlete and in great shape, but he had to do twice the work everyone else did."

But the impressive list doesn't stop there. Take a close look at the award they won, and you'll see a competition that tests every facet of a security forces member, versus just one specific area.

"If there's an award in security forces to win, it's this one," said Lt. Col. Gerald Szybist, 92nd SFS commander. "This competition combined everything - maneuver, shooting, judgement. They did it all and blew everyone away."

Specifically, the Combat Tactics competition introduced a mission scenario the team members had to carry out. The team received an operations order 24 hours before their assigned scenario, which they studied until it was time to hit the road.

"The mission was to get two Air Force medical personnel to a village with a vaccination, and to get them back," explained Sergeant Wilson. The mission came with an endless line of challenges and hostilites, he said, including a road block on the way to the village, a number of villagers going crazy and becoming hostile, mortar attacks and injuries, for which the team had to administer self-aid and buddy care, he said. "It really got us thinking because everything moves so fast; we just had to keep going."

Sergeant Wilson went on to say that the months of additional training "really helped out there." In fact, though the three-man team brought back the winning title, Coach Gambrel and trainers Staff Sgt. Christ Kohut and 1st Lt. Cassandra Bates were vital to the team's success; without the grueling training schedule, it just wouldn't have happened.

"You really had to be in perfect shape for the competition," said Sergeant Wilson. "Everything in the competition was laid out perfectly - there was no room for slack."

So now it's time to sit back, relax and enjoy their win, right?

Not really.

"I'm looking forward to the next rodeo in two years; we're taking at least three awards next time," claimed Sergeant Wilson. "If we're not hurting by the end of each training day, we're not working hard enough."

While that may sound a little extreme to anyone less dedicated, it is exactly that fortitude, confidence and commitment that pushed the team to the top this year.

"I am so proud of them, being such a young team and winning this award; it proved what well-rounded, excellent security forces troops they are," said Mr. Gambrel. "Even though I was yelling at them and never let them know it, every day these guys brought water to my eyes."