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386th AEW personnel head for cover during bunker training

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Stacy Fowler
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Being in a deployed environment means being prepared for anything, and the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing took that to the bunkers during a "bunker dive" exercise Feb. 21.

In an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia, weeks of preparation came to fruition as military and civilian personnel ran for the bunkers or took cover in approved facilities during a simulated mortar attack in the mid-morning hours.

"We used this exercise to physically put into practice what we had recently learned through our wing-wide training," said Maj. David Lann, 386th AEW Wing Plans and Norman, Okla., native deployed from the 50th Airlift Squadron, 19th Air Wing, Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. "Ultimately, the goal of every exercise is to educate personnel and improve the base's response capability in order to execute our mission."

Getting into the bunkers was just one portion of the exercise. Once the dust cleared, Airmen also conducted accountability checks, post-attack reconnaissance team sweeps and unexploded ordinance marking.

"One of many United States Air Force mottos includes 'we train how we fight,'" said Master Sgt. Jim Burmeister, 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron installation emergency manager. "With goals clear in our minds, we are able to achieve success. We strive to reiterate that we need to be aware of our surroundings and maintain a sense of awareness in our deployed location."

These training and exercise scenarios help maximize survivability and mission sustainment, said Burmeister, a Hillsboro, N.D., native deployed from the 119th Wing in Fargo, N.D.

The 386th AEW continually conducts a variety of base exercises, to prepare its personnel for whatever might occur in the future.