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820th SFG, RAF Regiment train together during joint exercise Winged Eagle

By Airman 1st Class Spencer Gallien, 23rd Wing Public Affairs / Published February 23, 2009

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MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- A security forces group known for its unique mission invited it's counterparts from Great Britain here to conduct training and enhance coalition morale and readiness February 2 - 15.

The 820th Security Forces Group, a unit dedicated to base defense and force protection, hosted the II Squadron Royal Air Force Regiment from RAF Honington located in Suffolk, Great Britain, during Winged Eagle, a two-week exercise where the units shared tactics, training techniques and equipment.

"The United States and the United Kingdom are very close allies," said Wing Cmdr Dutch Holland, Commanding Officer, II Squadron, RAF Regiment. "This type of training gives us a better mutual understanding of each other's strengths and weaknesses and fosters relationships between the two units."

During the first week, the units trained in the Military Operations in Urban Terrain village here. Paratrooper training was also conducted, and included a static line parachute jump out of a C-17 Globemaster III and a C-130 Hercules.

The second week of training included a trip to Camp Blanding, Fla., where fire teams competed against one another as part of the intensive two-week training exercise.

The RAF Regiments and 820th SFG's missions are so similar and unique that training together was the next logical progression for them, said Col. Don Derry, 820th SFG commander.

"Because of the similarity of our wartime missions, we will continually cross paths with each other in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Colonel Derry. "It's important that we have a good understanding of each other's strengths."

We've trained together, now we're ready to fight together, he added.

In addition to their missions, the two units also share another common bond.

After the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia , Gen Ron Fogelman, the Air Force Chief of Staff then, developed an initiative for a base defense and force protection group to provide Airmen with more security.

A Tiger Team, headed by then Captain Derry, began modeling a force protection unit based on the United Kingdom's RAF Regiment, which later became the 820th SFG.

During this training, there was an invaluable exchange of information that benefited both units, said Flight Lt. Paul Hamilton, II Squadron, RAF Regiment operations officer.

"Of course you gain the tangible skills that are a direct goal of the training," said Flight Lieutenant Hamilton. "But there's also invaluable, unforeseeable skills and knowledge that were shared between the groups. In the future we will be able to pull from the knowledge we gained here and put it to practical use."