BRIDGEPORT, Calif. -- Airmen with the 721st Contingency Response Squadron completed Exercise Phantom Shield 2026, a weeklong field training event held at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, California, July 12-17, designed to sharpen the unit's ability to rapidly open and defend austere airfields in a contested environment.
The exercise focused on three key tasks: airbase set-up, force protection proficiency, and job-specific/Mission Ready Airman (MRA) training, according to unit officials.
Airmen began the week with landing zone safety officer (LZSO) and survey team seasoning, practicing the assessment and certification procedures required to bring an unfamiliar airfield into operation. That training laid the groundwork for follow-on airbase setup tasks throughout the exercise.
"This exercise is about making sure every piece of the airbase opening puzzle — from initial survey to full operations — comes together seamlessly under pressure," said U.S. Air Force Maj. Jason Feys, 721 CRS assistant director of operations. "Phantom Shield gives our Airmen the reps they need to execute that mission anywhere in the world, on short notice."
Mobility and force protection training featured heavily in the schedule, with Airmen conducting MRZR and HUMVEE proficiency drills to maintain readiness on the vehicles used to move personnel and equipment across contingency locations. Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) training and Alamo, dispersal and bugout rehearsals gave Airmen the chance to practice responding to and evading a range of threat scenarios in the field.
"Force protection is the foundation everything else is built on," said Tech. Sgt. Ahmad Hawkins, 721st CRS force protection specialist. "If we can't secure the airfield and keep our people safe, nothing else we do out here matters. Training like this keeps our reactions sharp and our team ready for the real thing."
The squadron also used the week to knock out currency requirements, running night vision and Advanced Ready Training - Contingency Response refresher training alongside broader MRA opportunities that allowed Airmen to maintain qualifications tied to their specific career fields.
The 721 CRS specializes in rapidly deploying to establish and operate austere airfields, enabling follow-on forces to flow into a theater of operations. Exercises such as Phantom Shield are held periodically to ensure Airmen remain proficient across the full spectrum of contingency response missions.