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Defender's Challenge

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. George Thompson
  • 386th AEW Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Days after Secretary of Defense Panetta's decision to allow women to serve in direct ground combat units, seven women from the 386th and 387th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadrons respectively, participated in a Defender's Challenge competition here that tested their combat proficiency, physical fitness, endurance, strength and job knowledge.

The Defender's Challenge pitted ten four-person fire teams, three from the 386th ESFS and seven from the 387th ESFS in a six event timed competition consisting of a gear relay, Humvee push and down gunner litter relay, weapons knowledge consisting of disassembly, assembly and function checks on the M-4 carbine and M-249 squad automatic weapon, unexploded ordnance recognition and a job knowledge questionnaire.

Team Six as they were known consisted of three women and one man held their own in this competition of brains and brawn.

"I think it's good, the fact they are implementing it slowly and they have the same PT standards as the males, so it's not like they will have any special treatment," said Senior Airman Olivia Gill, 387th ESFS Defender. "It's going to take a little more effort on a women's part to do it because their bodies are different but they can do it definitely."

Team Six' only male Staff Sgt. Richard Hobbs, 387th ESFS Defender shared Gill's sentiment on women in combat roles.
 
"I think it's fair, its well overdue, Hobbs said. "War is no longer conventional, they are getting smarter and doing things differently, it's all about strategy and females bring a different factor in; what they lack in strength they make up for in aptitude so it's a balance on the battlefield."

While team six did not win the Defender's Challenge, they placed a respectable 6th in the competition.

The teams other members included Senior Airman Anjelica Hernandez and Airman 1st Class Quin Reed, both from the 387th ESFS.

The Defender Challenges started in the Vietnam era, then known as the safe side challenge, in order to test Security Forces knowledge in defending their bases against attacks by hostile force.