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New California facility enables Airmen, law enforcement training

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Charles Rivezzo
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Solano County law enforcement agencies and Travis Air Force Base, California officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony here Jan. 29 for the newly constructed Emergency Responder Urban Training Site, marking the first tangible Travis project completed as a direct result of the Air Force Community Partnership program.

The overarching goal of the site is to enable emergency responders from Travis as well as local and federal law enforcement agencies to train together and integrate operations.

This goal came to fruition as members from Vacaville Special Weapons and Tactics team and the 60th Security Forces Squadron showcased their joint partnership by demonstrating a breach and clearing scenario for onlookers during the ceremony.

"This site gives us the capability to conduct full-scale scenarios, away from the main base, that can incorporate nearly any training scenario you can imagine," said Capt. Matthew McGinnis, 60th SFS operations officer. "With fully breachable doors, our emergency responders will be able to train in the most realistic environments possible to prepare against threats of active shooters, hostage situation, mass casualty response, and bomb and drug detection."

The buildings - made out of fabricated shipping containers - are intended to have a wide variety of layouts that emergency personnel might encounter, said James Frazier, 60th SFS training instructor. The one- and two-story buildings have windows, balconies, staircases and even a roof hatch.

Squadron officials stated that the site is a force enabler that will foster a synergy of continuity among the emergency response community from both military and civilian agencies. They also added that the site is not limited to law enforcement personnel and can be effectively utilized by individuals within the fire, medical and explosive ordnance disposal communities.

To secure funding for the joint-use facility, Travis officials leveraged the prospects afforded to military installations via the AFCP program, which aims to offer opportunities to level resources and capabilities of installations, state and local communities to achieve mutual value and benefits. The process taps into the intellectual capital and entrepreneurial spirit of base and community leaders to accomplish the Air Force mission and address the needs of the Airmen.

"Partnering starts with committed Air Force and community leaders, the Air Force process can be a challenge and requires hard work, the greatest results are achieved when installation and community leaders identify initiatives with the potential for achieving mutual benefits," said Lt. Col. Christopher Lambert, 60th Air Mobility Wing director of staff. "The security forces training facility is a visible example of the commitment Travis shares with our local community."

For the ERUTS project in particular, the Air Force provided the $175,000 necessary to build the urban training site, while any maintenance or repair for the compound will be paid for by the local community, which is estimated to save at least $10,000 a year in associated costs.

Since October 2012, the program has generated more than 1,000 initiatives across the Air Force. These partnerships identify new and innovative ways of supporting Airmen and their families. Current initiatives include medical, emergency response, grounds maintenance, shared use firing ranges, joint fire/police training and operations of installation services.

Presently, the Travis AFCP Leadership Committee, which identifies and implements mutually beneficial partnerships between Travis and the local community, has several initiatives it plans to pursue to include a reclaimed water initiative, shared use of base and local swimming pools and golf facilities as well as a teen program partnership.