567th RED HORSE winds down from exercise, gears up for Beyond the Horizon

by Airman 1st Class Brittain Crolley
4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

11/10/2014 - FORT SMITH, Ark.  -- They could have easily made excuses.

"It's cold."
"It's wet."
"It gets dark too early."
"We haven't worked together like this in more than a year."

Instead, when the 567th RED HORSE out of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, took off for their weeklong field training exercise, they hit the ground running.

The obstacles were numerous. The squadron hadn't endured a full-force exercise like this in more than a year and the communication between the more than 20 different Air Force Specialty Code sections wasn't 100 percent streamlined yet.

For a week, the squadron tackled numerous projects, ranging from airfield damage repair to building a concrete masonry unit block, more commonly known as cinder block, structure from the ground up.

"The team did amazing work this week," said Lt. Col. Randall Roberts, 567th RED HORSE commander. "We found a way to work through our issues we had early on and kept a good attitude despite all the obstacles we came across along the way."

But like any good machine the squadron has in its arsenal, all they needed was a little oil to get the gears turning again.

"We applied the lessons learned from early on in the week and overcame our communication issues and further defined our roles and responsibilities," Roberts said. "The result is a smooth-running engine that's capable of handling any task thrown their way."

After quickly making adjustments to get things back on track, the squadron turned its efforts toward the projects it came here to complete. Faced with less than favorable weather conditions and limited daylight, the RED HORSE Airmen worked tirelessly to overcome the challenges laid before them.

"I told the team on the last day of the exercise that the way they went from being ice cold and unsure of themselves in the beginning to snapping together to complete the mission was absolutely incredible," said Tech. Sgt. Alton Sharpton, 567th RED HORSE. "They soaked up the knowledge they got from the training and were able to apply it immediately to the projects with confidence."

The engine they became will soon use its built-up horsepower as they prepare for an upcoming operation in support of Beyond the Horizon, U.S. Army South and U.S. Southern Command's annual humanitarian and civic assistance program, which works closely with host-nation forces and civilian organizations to provide medical, dental and engineering support.

Combined with the 560th RED HORSE out of Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, they will be tasked to build one of six schools from the same materials used during the exercise to help better provide education to the host nation's inhabitants.

"When we go to support Beyond the Horizon, I fully expect to see a furtherance of the confidence they gained from the exercise here and take it to the next level as we follow forward with our next mission," Sharpton said.