News

McChord Reserve civil engineers get cool training in hot sun

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Grant Saylor
  • 446th Airlift Wing/Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  With temperatures hovering in the 90s and high humidity, the heat is on for some 30 Reservists from the 446th Civil Engineer Squadron from McChord Field, Wash., who arrived May 21 for a week-long training exercise here.

Known as Silver Flag, the exercise provides field training and classroom instruction to improve deployment readiness for civil engineers.

Teaming up with their active-duty and Air National Guard counterparts from across the nation, the Reservists get to learn and share skills and knowledge.

"This is a chance for our Airmen to get hands-on training with our assets currently deployed in the area of responsibility," said Maj. Jere High, 446th CES operations flight commander. "This is important stuff because people's lives depend on it."

Major High is the deployed student commander for Silver Flag, and he said it's exciting to see participants from various locations and backgrounds come together and gel as a team.

The 446th CES has Reservists from nearly every civil engineer career field attending the exercise, including specialists in utilities, structures, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), electrical, power production, operations, and heavy equipment.

"We're here to learn how to run it, fix it, and maintain it," said Major High. "No matter where you are in your career, you never know it all... there's always something new to learn."

One of the Reservists tackling the Florida spring heat while sharpening his career skills is Senior Airman Ben Jenkins, a heavy construction equipment operator with 446th CES. Even though this is his first go-around at Silver Flag, Airman Jenkins is certified on every piece of equipment in his shop's arsenal, from giant backhoes and graters to asphalt grinders with blades that look like they belong on a huge pizza cutter.

Despite the experience he already has under his belt, like a seven-month deployment to Iraq in 2009, he's taking in all the knowledge he can at Silver Flag.

"I'm hoping to get out of this a better understanding of airfield damage repair," said the former Tillamook High School basketball star from Oregon.

He and his fellow "dirt boyz," as the heavy equipment specialists are known, are refining their skills to quickly and efficiently fix runways damaged by enemy mortar rounds. And while it may sound like a dirty job, it's one that's absolutely essential to keeping Air Force firepower in the air.

"This is a big part of our job, and this kind of training environment really helps increase my knowledge base for a deployed environment," said Airman Jenkens, a Portland Community College student.

Like in most field-training exercises in other career fields, communication is another essential tool, according to Airmen Jenkins' supervisor, Staff Sgt. Garett Wass, 446th CES construction equipment operator.

"The communication side of things is so important to mission accomplishment, and this scenario provides an atmosphere conducive to communication," he said.

Sergeant Wass has deployed twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and says Silver Flag provides invaluable knowledge and learning. He believes that makes for more confident, skilled Airmen when the deployment cycle rolls around.

And when it does, Sergeant Wass knows Silver Flag will have prepared Reservists from the 446th CES to take on the task.