Air Force Reservist Leads Joint Team During NATO Pentathlon in Romania

Sept. 25, 2026 | By Elizabeth Easterling, 919th Special Operations Wing |

An Air Force Reservist helped lead a joint three-member U.S. military team to a third-place finish in the novice division at the 2026 International Confederation of Reserve Officers Military Competition in Bucharest, Romania.

Air Force Lt. Col. Lance Speed was part of an elite contingent of 18 American reserve service members representing the Air Force Reserve Command and Army Reserve Command, who competed against 37 teams of 119 competitors from 14 NATO member states.

The military pentathlon tested participants across five demanding combat disciplines: combat marksmanship, a land obstacle course, a water obstacle course, utility hand grenade throwing accuracy and a military orientation march. 

To prepare for the high-intensity event, Speed completed a 15-day overseas mission that began with a week of intensive interoperability training alongside Greek partners at the Hellenic Army Academy in Athens, Greece. The team then traveled to Romania for two days of weapons familiarization on foreign defense platforms, including live-fire training with the AK-47 rifle and the TT-30 pistol.

Speed, who is assigned to the 919th Special Operations Wing, said his background as an air advisor gave him a strong appreciation for building relationships with international partners. He was drawn to the event's professional development and unique allied environment.

"I was interested in the opportunity to challenge myself, develop professionally and learn alongside competitors from other organizations and nations," Speed said. "This competition is a great chance to strengthen those connections, exchange perspectives and learn from our partners."

Competing on a joint team alongside one fellow Air Force Reservist and one Army Reservist, Speed's team showcased outstanding tactical capability by placing in the top four in five of the competition's seven scored categories. The joint team ultimately secured the highest novice team shooting score, the highest novice precision hand grenade score and logged the third-fastest water obstacle course transit time in their division. His standout achievements earned high praise back home from his leaders at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

"Lance is a great representative of the quality of people we have in our squadron," said Air Force Lt. Col. Joseph Hurley, Speed's squadron commander. "His professionalism and discipline are evident in both his commitment to physical fitness and his day-to-day work. His results in Romania come as no surprise to those of us who work with him, and I am proud of how he represented the wing."

Speed said the team's joint nature was one of the most rewarding aspects of the mission.

"I really enjoyed working with our Air Force and Army Reserve counterparts and learning from the broad range of civilian and military backgrounds represented on the team," he said. "It was great to step outside the environment at [Eglin's] Duke Field and share the experience with teammates from across the joint force. Just as relationships with our international partners contribute to success, connections and mutual understanding within the joint environment [are] invaluable."

Ultimately, representing the citizen air commandos of the 919th Special Operations Wing and the nation on an international stage was a responsibility Speed did not take lightly.

"It is a meaningful responsibility and such a privilege," he said. "I am mindful that many people from the 919th Special Operations Wing have represented the organization before me and helped establish its strong reputation. I see it as an opportunity to represent the professionalism, preparation and commitment of the people and organizations I work with. It is also an opportunity to represent Team USA in a positive way, building friendships with our international partners and connecting on a personal level outside of an operational environment."

Development, Training Flight Shapes Future Airmen

Sept. 14, 2026 | By Air Force Staff Sgt. Dakota Carter, 926th Wing |

For recruits assigned to the 926th Wing at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, their journey starts long before basic military training. Before ever setting foot on the drill pad, these future airmen are already learning exactly what it takes to succeed in the Air Force Reserve. 

Serving as the catalyst for this transition, the 926th Wing Development and Training Flight bridges the gap between civilian life and operational military service. By coming in regularly alongside current wing members, trainees get a firsthand glimpse into their future. During this time, they are introduced to the core tenets of military life, learning essential customs and courtesies, drill procedures and rank structure to establish a baseline of knowledge.

However, the training flight goes one step further with an initiative specifically designed to start building the wing from within. Beyond military fundamentals, trainees also embed with operational squadrons to gain firsthand experience with units they may eventually join. 

"The development and training flight is built for newly enlisted reservists that come into our wing," said Air Force Tech. Sgt. Bench Riche Lagus, a program coordinator assigned to the 926th. "It helps them prepare for [basic military training] and tech school, but it also helps them get integrated with the wing that they're about to work for." 

Trainees recently observed the 555th Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers and traveled to Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, to witness security forces field operations. 

For trainees like Abril Fonseca, a future vehicle mechanic with the 555th, this early exposure eases the transition into military life and provides a tangible goal. 

"It's cool to see what our day-to-day [life] is going to look like," Fonseca said. "Everybody is just so pumped."

Establishing a common baseline can be a challenge as trainees enter the flight with different levels of experience, from recent high school graduates to those with established civilian careers. As they move through the program, they rely on one another to learn military expectations and adjust to their new environment. 

"The other trainees around me that have been there longer helped me out," Fonseca said. "It's a cycle; the people who have been here the longest help the newbies out, and then we just carry that on." 

Alongside military fundamentals and wing integration, physical readiness remains a cornerstone of the development and training flight curriculum. The program incorporates monthly fitness tests, group workouts and participation in wing fitness events to familiarize trainees with Air Force fitness standards. 

This proactive approach ensures recruits arrive at basic training already equipped with the physical resilience required for military service. For many trainees, the group environment provides the exact motivation they need. 

"I was not good at working out consistently before I got to the flight," Fonseca said. "But now it feels like I can actually do it. What makes it better for me is that I have my teammates around me supporting and pushing me."

Dobbins Airmen Sustain Force During Exercise Patriot Medic 2026 One Meal at a Time

July 10, 2026 | By 94th Airlift Wing |

Before the day's medical training begins and long before the first patient is treated, another mission is already underway. Inside the dining facility at Gulfport Combat Readiness Training Center, Mississippi, the sounds of ovens, serving pans and hurried footsteps fill the kitchen as airmen work against the clock, preparing hundreds of meals that sustain one of the Air Force Reserve's premier medical readiness exercises.

Exercise Patriot Medic 2026, which took place May 25-June 22 at various sites throughout lower Mississippi brought together Air Force Reserve and Army medical personnel to strengthen deployment readiness through realistic field training focused on trauma care, patient evacuation and expeditionary medicine.

While medical professionals sharpen lifesaving skills in austere environments, Reserve airmen assigned to the 94th Force Support Squadron out of Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia, ensure those training on the front lines remain fueled and ready to perform.

"It's really tiring and it's very hectic here," said Air Force Airman 1st Class Angela Romero, 94th Force Support Squadron food services technician. "It's always chaotic. You're always running around, but at the end of the day, I feel like it's been a great learning experience. We are with a large variety of people; there are technical sergeants, staff sergeants, senior airmen and all the above, but everybody really comes together to help one another out. We've been working day in and day out, and I feel like we've been feeding 600 people very, very smoothly."

Throughout the exercise, force support airmen assigned to the 94th Airlift Wing served hundreds of meals daily to airmen and soldiers participating in Exercise Patriot Medic. The Air Force team also backfilled the dining facility mission during the opening days of the exercise until Army personnel arrived, requiring early morning and late evening hours to keep meals moving without interruption.

"It's a little crazy because it's such a larger number than what we're used to," said Air Force Airman Gustavo Barroso, 94th Force Support Squadron food services technician. "In the kitchen, you're running back and forth, and the atmosphere is really like, 'OK, we really need to get these meals out.' There's a lot of urgency in here to get everything out because we have a lot of mouths to feed and a lot of people to serve."

For many 94th Force Support Squadron airmen, large-scale food service operations are not part of their routine duties. Supporting Exercise Patriot Medic required them to quickly adapt, practice unfamiliar tasks and rely on one another to accomplish the mission while maintaining the pace needed to support hundreds of personnel.

"To freshen up, I would ask questions on my downtime," Barroso said. "I would try to do some research on certain things that would help me in the kitchen. I would just ask questions and try to get as much information as possible to complete the mission."

While their work often takes place behind the scenes, every meal directly contributes to the readiness of those participating in the exercise. Proper nutrition enables medics, support personnel and joint partners to continue training in demanding environments, with the goal of preparing for future deployments.

"Serving makes me feel good about myself," Romero said. "Realistically, everyone would be eating [Meals, Ready-to-Eat] day in and day out if we weren't back here from 3 a.m. until 10 p.m. making all these meals for everyone. It makes me really feel good about myself. I'm proud of the people in the back because we are all tired and exhausted, but every shift we get it done and we feel good about it."

That commitment extended beyond simply preparing food. Long hours, unfamiliar responsibilities and the physical demands of working in a busy kitchen became another opportunity to strengthen resilience.

"What I've learned while I've been out here is to push through adversity and have real resilience," Barroso said. "It gets tough and you get tired, but in the same way our soldiers, our personnel and our airmen are out there fighting and can't falter, we in the kitchen can't falter because we contribute a lot to the mission. If we don't feed our service members and give them the proper nutrition, they won't be able to complete the mission. Our mission is to help them complete the mission."

The exercise also reinforced lessons airmen plan to bring back to Dobbins Air Reserve Base from improving communication and teamwork to learning new skills outside their comfort zones. More importantly, it highlighted the shared responsibility every airman has in ensuring mission success, regardless of career field.

"I want to bring back resilience," Romero said. "I'm so tired, but we still wake up and we still come to work. They put me in baking here and I'd never baked a day in my life, and I feel like that's something I'll take back. I'll also take back new communication skills because we obviously have to talk, meet new people and get [accustomed] to certain things."

Despite the demanding schedule, both airmen said the experience strengthened the bonds within the team, where everyone stepped in to help one another and no one was left to carry the workload alone.

"I wish they knew how hard we worked," said Barroso, who noted that many diners don't realize the struggle behind the scenes. "It's hot, super hot, and you're getting cuts and burns here and there, you know, and the people walking in, they just see the food. They don't realize how much effort was put into that food to then be served. I wish they knew how much effort we put into the food that they see and eat."

While Exercise Patriot Medic 2026 prepares Reserve medical professionals to deliver lifesaving care in deployed environments, it also demonstrates that readiness depends on far more than the personnel providing treatment. From before sunrise until late into the night, 94th Force Support Squadron airmen sustained the exercise one meal at a time, proving that deployment readiness is built not only through training, but through the airmen whose work behind the scenes makes that training possible.