Story by Senior Master Sgt. Timm Huffman with reporting by Staff Sgt. Elliot Boutin

Newington, N.H. — Defenders from the 157th Air Refueling Wing at Pease Air National Guard Base tackled a new training experience designed to hone their abilities in Close Quarters Battle, Land Navigation and Tactical Combat Casualty Care, Aug. 3-7.

The training was developed and led by New Hampshire Air National Guard subject matter experts and executed with support from local state and federal partners, creating a low-cost way to ensure base Defenders are ready to protect Airmen and aircraft in any environment.

“The military trainings we have access to are expensive and hard to get into, especially for guardsmen,” said Master Sgt. Bill Werner, 157th Security Force Squadron Operations Superintendent and an officer with the Portsmouth Police Department. “We realized we had all the tools in house to do these trainings locally with our own state resources. Even the building we used to train in are used by local SWAT teams and were available.”

The 157th SFS leadership tapped into their talented group of subject matter experts and empowered them to create the advanced, five-day, in-house training with the goal of upskilling their Airmen and creating the next generation of experts.

The effort aligns to the Air Force’s efforts to shift to the multi-capable Airman framework and identifying advanced training for specific career specialties to prepare Airmen for deployments in support of Agile Combat Employment operations.

The planners, many of whom also serve in law enforcement as civilians, leveraged their extensive experience and networks to pull together the curriculum of what they call master classes, a qualified team of instructors from the local area, and locations at federal and state training grounds—all of which resulted in an effective and cost-efficient training event for the unit.

“As Defenders, our main mission is protecting the base, personnel and aircraft. To do that there are certain skills we need to be very good at,” said Werner.

About 25 Airmen participated in the training which comprised three master classes: Land Navigation, lifesaving skills and Close Quarters Battle.

The 157th SFS leveraged training facilities across NH to make the training as realistic as possible to ensure the greatest effect. They practiced day and night Land Navigation in Pembroke; trained on various weapons in both day and nighttime on several weapons ranges around the state; learned Close Quarters Battle and building-clearing skills at training facilities in Portsmouth, Hampton and Dover; and learned Tactical Combat Casualty Care, earning CPR certification and practicing helicopter medical evacuation operations along the way.

Werner was the brainchild behind the event, but he enlisted the help of fellow Defenders to pull together the curriculum and conduct the trainings. Tech. Sgt. Jacob Kelly developed the Land Navigation master class, Tech Sgt. Peter Connor developed the Close Quarters Battle master class, while Staff Sgt. Matthew Black was responsible for the TCCC master class.

The success of the training was also thanks to the help of community partners Portsmouth and Hampton Police Department, the Seacoast Emergency Response Team, numerous local building owners who allowed the team to use their facilities, and then NH Army National Guard, which boosted the realism of the training by providing aviation support.

Staff Sgt. Kyle Robinson, who joined the New Hampshire Air National Guard as a Defender about six months ago, said the training is one of the best he has experienced, to include trainings he had while on active duty for seven years.

Robinson said he appreciated the crawl, walk, run approach of each day, which gave him opportunities to practice skills all along the way. As part of the Close Quarters Battle master class squad, Robinson spent time at multiple firing ranges, practice clearing buildings utilizing equipment like night vision goggles, and capped the week with a final training exercise.

“The training was phenomenal,” he said. “We’re employing what we learn throughout each day and rolling it all together at the end. I loved it!”

Werner said the proof of concept was possible thanks to the diverse skillsets guardsmen bring to the fight from the civilian world and has changed the face of training for the 157th Security Forces Squadron—a change in line with Air Force priorities of growing and developing Airmen.

“There’s a big emphasis on personal and professional growth, creating Citizen Airmen who are ready to respond for our country and state,” he said. “Our Security Force motto is Defensor fortis and our sole mission is to protect the installation. To do that effectively we need to be SMEs in these skillsets and [this training] ensures we have a truly lethal, ready force of Defenders on our installation.”