823d, 105th BDSs train at Camp Blanding

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Ceaira Tinsley
  • 23d Wing Public Affairs
Moody Air Force Base, Ga. --  Approximately 300 Airmen from the 823d and 105th Base Defense Squadrons are currently hosting a joint Safeside Guardian training exercise at Camp Blanding, Fla., Aug. 11-15.

Although Safeside Guardian is held annually, this is the first off-site exercise done in five years, allowing for a bigger exercise environment.

"It's extremely huge that we get to be geographically separated from main base to a place where it is a little more real," said U. S. Air Force Capt. Calvin Glass, 823d BDS commander. "We are really able to actually do our thing, and train the way we actually train and not have to worry about everything being so proper. Obviously, everything is still in regulation and within procedures."

The exercise is designed to test their readiness in security operations using different tasks evaluated by an exercise evaluation team made up of various members of the 820th Base Defense Group.

The overall mission of this year's Safeside Guardian is to assist the host nation by creating a presence in the area and going after insurgents who pose as threats.

"The mission we have here for this training is to protect the refugees," said Airman 1st Class Edgar Moreta, 105th BDS fire team member. "We are actually guarding the base with the host nation ... monitoring vehicles gaining access to the base. We are also trying to befriend the locals and see if we can get any (intelligence) from them with regards to any possible terroristic threats towards the base."

Master Sgt. Eddie Ray, 820th BDG superintendent of standardization and evaluation, stated once the 823d BDS passes this validation, they will be qualified to deploy anywhere in the world within a 72-hour time frame.

Before training began, Airmen from both units arrived on site to develop an austere base.

"We had to erect our own tents in the rain we had yesterday. Those are the kind of conditions that we have to be used to," said Glass. "If we were to go deploy to an austere environment, it's not going to be the most comfortable, so that's why it is good for both the 823d (BDS) and the 105th (BDS) to get to practice with those kinds of environments."

Additionally, the exercise trained and evaluated members of the 93d Air Ground Operations Wing in all of the different specialties needed to run a base.

Ray explained almost every Airmen in the 823d BDS participated, including members of communications, radio frequency systems, vehicle maintenance, office of special investigations, k-9 units, combat arms, intelligence, supply, civil engineers, administration and logistics.

The 105th BDS hails from Stewart Air National Guard, N.Y., and deploys with the 823d BDS regularly. Participating in joint, training missions creates the opportunity to test their abilities together, said Ray.

This year's Safeside Guardian is uniquely different to previous years as it's a 24-hour operations training exercise and includes members from the 822d Base Defense Squadron as key role players in the exercise.

What's different with this one is that the 822d BDS is significantly helping out by being the opposition force, host nation, security forces, special operations and local nationals, Glass described.

At the end of the exercise during the hot wash, the units will discuss the exercise's successes and what can be improved. Ultimately, the exercise allows the base defense squadrons to test and apply what they learn to real-life situations.

"This is a great training opportunity for individuals, especially the guard unit that maybe only does this once a month," said Glass. "If the 105th (BDS) gets called, they have people that have no kidding done this, at least in a training environment where it is relatively safe to make sure they go through the processes correctly, so when the time comes, they can get their mission taken care of."