EOD Airmen Tackle Warfighter Challenge

By Samuel King Jr., Eglin Air Force Base

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- A three-person explosive ordnance disposal team approaches a bomb-laden vehicle with two hostages inside. As they reach the car, a hidden device explodes, damaging the leg of a team member.

What does the team do next?

This was just one of many difficult scenarios the airmen encountered during this year’s EOD Warfighter Challenge held here.

The two-week, situation-based training exercise was created last year by the 96th Civil Engineer Group. More than 90 airmen from more than 20 Air Force EOD units participated in this year’s exercise.

‘Overwhelming’ Response

“The response was so overwhelming we needed another week to handle the demand,” said Air Force Master Sgt. Joseph Burke, EOD Warfighter Challenge creator with the 96th Civil Engineer Squadron.

The event’s goal was to hone the airmens’ EOD and problem-solving skills with new environments, setups, gear and situations. Eglin’s range area, formally used to train deploying security forces airmen, was the site of urban and village exercise scenarios.

“The more realistic and challenging we can make the situations, the more the airmen will take away from it and remember when it is real,” said Air Force Staff Sgt. Michael Bodner, 96th EOD flight.

Another goal of the Warfighter Challenge was to provide opportunities for airmen to train in leadership positions on the three-person EOD teams.

“You have to see the situation differently and think about the whole team and what actions are required to keep not just yourself, but your team safe. I hadn’t seen that side of it until now,” said Air Force Senior Airman Aaron Parris, 633rd Civil Engineer Squadron, who acted as an EOD team lead for the first time during the exercise.

Different Scenarios

The teams encountered at least three scenarios each day. There were multiple improvised explosive device problems within each scenario the airmen would solve, along with human elements and equipment limitations. Each situation had numerous ways to solve each problem. It was up to the airmen to determine the best and safest solution.

EOD Warfighter Challenge

The situations varied from pressure plates to a pipe bomb around a victim’s neck, to vehicle-borne IEDs, roadside bombs and a mock electronics store filled with so many electrical parts that anything could be an IED. There was also a scenario with a simulated bomb strapped to a non-English speaking victim. In that situation, the victim would frantically try, but could not provide the EOD technician any information to help them.

The mental and physical puzzles of the training were only part of the Warfighter Challenge. Participants passed along lessons learned, equipment benefits and methods of mission improvement. That knowledge is taken back to their units.

For example, at last year’s exercise a piece of equipment for the technicians’ night vision was deemed a “must have” by the participants. The request was processed, and with a few months the new gear was added to the standard equipment required for all Air Force EOD technicians.

“This is larger for us than just these exercises. There’s so much more being accomplished,” said Air Force Capt. Cory McCart, Eglin’s EOD flight commander. “We are helping to improve the airmen who attend, their units, the career field and our mission as a whole.”

Face of Defense: Air Guardsman Earns Air Force Academy Appointment

By Air Force Tech. Sgt. Seth Bleuer, 194th Wing

CAMP MURRAY, Wash. -- Air Force Airman 1st Class Jasmine Griffith, a client systems technician in the Washington Air National Guard’s 194th Communications Flight, has been selected to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Griffith said she was inspired to join the military by her father, a 20-year Army veteran, who, along with her high school calculus teacher, encouraged her to apply to the academy. After a tour of the academy, she was determined to attend.

Griffith didn't make the cut the first time she applied. Instead of being discouraged and giving up, she strengthened her resolve.

She joined the Washington Air National Guard as a way to serve the country while still pursuing her goal.

"I knew that I needed to show more growth since my first application, so I tried to volunteer for as many opportunities as I could when I got back from technical school,” Griffith said. “I volunteered for the fires. I volunteered to do Junior ROTC drill competition judging. I even gave a speech at a local high school about the Air National Guard's cyber security mission."

Getting In

In July, Airman 1st Class Griffith will become Cadet Griffith, an Air Force Academy student and future Air Force officer. "I'm nervous to go back to school in general, it's been about two years since I've been in high school but I'm more excited for the whole experience than I am nervous,” she said. “I've wanted this so bad and have been working towards it since 2015, and it's finally happening. I still can't believe it sometimes."

The application process was "very rigorous with tough physical, personal and academic standards," Griffith said.

She is hoping to major in computer and network security and work as an Air Force communications officer when she graduates.

Griffith has advice for fellow airmen who may be interested in the Air Force Academy. "Don't give up! If at first you don't get in, keep trying and keep improving and working towards your goal,” she said. “There were many times when I thought I wasn't good enough and didn't meet the standards, but I just kept at it, and now here I am."

USS Milius Brings Enhanced Missile Defense to U.S 7th Flee

By Navy Lt. j.g. Michael Barkofski, U.S. 7th Fleet

AT SEA -- The guided missile destroyer USS Milius entered the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations May 14 to join the forward-deployed U.S. naval forces in Japan.

Milius joins Destroyer Squadron 15 to support security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region by bringing enhanced missile defense capabilities as a ballistic missile defense platform.

"I am very excited that Milius is coming to DESRON 15,” said Navy Capt. Jonathan Duffy, the commander of DESRON 15. “The ship's advanced capabilities will be vital in support of our missions in the Indo-Pacific region.”

During the past year, while homeported in San Diego, Milius was fitted with the Aegis Baseline 9 combat system, upgrading its air defense, ballistic missile defense, surface warfare and undersea warfare capabilities. The ship then completed Combat System Ship’s Qualification trials and multiple live-fire events to perform operational testing of its new weapons technology.

Hard-Working Crew

“I could not be prouder of this crew and their hard work and dedication leading up to this deployment,” said Navy Cmdr. Jennifer Pontius, the commander of the USS Milius. “The crew has trained extremely hard to get the ship fully certified and ready for tasking, and we are excited to operate forward and bring new capabilities to the [forward-deployed U.S. naval forces] team.”

With its Aegis BMD system, the Milius has the ability to provide regional, as well as homeland, defense support and can intercept short- to intermediate-range, separating and non-separating ballistic missile threats above the atmosphere and shorter-range ballistic missiles within the atmosphere.

A U.S. Navy destroyer is a multimission ship that can operate independently or as part of a larger group of ships at sea. The Milius is equipped with a Vertical Launching System, Tomahawk Cruise Missiles, torpedoes, guns and Phalanx Close-In Weapons Systems.

When the Milius arrives in Yokosuka, Japan, it is scheduled to undergo a regular maintenance period while the crew and their families settle into the area.

Milius follows the guided missile destroyers USS Benfold and USS Barry as the final destroyer to transition from the U.S. 3rd Fleet to the U.S. 7th Fleet. The move is part of the U.S. Navy’s plan to rotate newer and more capable units into positions across the Indo-Pacific region to provide security and stability to the forward-deployed Navy.