Page 13 - The Dispatch July 2019
P. 13

TEXAS MILITARY DEPARTMENT                                                      TEXAS MILITARY DEPARTMENT
 Airmen Up their   “These skill-sets could be used during Hurricane

          Harvey, when emergency services could not get
          into communities,” said Sullivan. “Storms blow
          down power lines, trees and overturn cars. We
 Ground Game  can come in and clear the route.”



          Students put their skills to the test at a scenario
          called Tornado Alley, a road made to simulate
          the after-effects of a tornado as close to real life
 Air Guard members practice ground convoy operations   as  possible.  Overturned  cars,  buses,  downed
 during disaster recovery and combat operations  power lines, steel beams and trees challenged
          the team, as every piece of debris needed to
          be pushed out of the road or cut from the path.
          Sullivan  said  that training  and  expert instruc-
          tion at Global Dragon is unlike anything else.    Air National Guard members review map during tactical combat convoy training.
                                                                  (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman Christopher Sherlock)
          “There  is  no  way  we  could  set  up  a  scenar-
          io that this exercise could do; they have been
          amazing,” Sullivan said. “We get to come here
          and have the experts with us.”


          Guardsmen also performed tactical convoy op-
          erations training that simulated scenarios they
          could encounter while deployed in support of
          contingency  operations.  Improvised  explosive
          devices and ambushes greeted the Airmen as
          they  drove  though  the  course.  According  to
          Tech. Sgt. David Strobel, a civil engineer oper-
          ations student with the 147th Attack Wing, the
          training has prepared Airmen for real-world op-
          erations.
                                                            Air Guardsmen remove debris from a roadway during convoy training for a disas-
                                                                          ter area during state active duty missions.
 Story By: Staff Sgt. Emmanuel Gutierrez & Airman Christopher Sherlock  “This has given us the ability to almost go re-  (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Emmanuel Gutierrez)
 188th Wing Public Affairs  al-world,” said Strobel. “We have people who

 PERRY, Georgia – Airmen normally focus their gaze upward as the Texas   are engaging us on the side of the road, it’s that
          real-world feel without the real-world risks. It
 Air National Guard’s C-130s, F-16s and Reapers thunder overhead, but   gives me the training to protect myself.”
 civil engineers with the 147th Attack Wing found their vision cast down
 as they maneuvered Humvees through the hazardous conditions of con-  Global Dragon is a biannual Air National Guard
 voy courses during the Global Dragon Exercise held at the Guardian Cen-  -led exercise that provides training for career
 ters in Perry, Georgia.
          fields across the mission support enterprise in
 The  first  phase  focused  on  disaster  relief  operations,  teaching  route   as close to real-world conditions as possible. -D
 clearing skills that would be encountered in the aftermath of a natural
 disaster. Senior Master Sgt. Nathan Sullivan, a Global Dragon instructor   (PAGE 12) Civil Engineer operations team members train on
 from the 147th Attack Wing, taught Airmen the importance of clearing   tactical  convoy  operations  at  Exercise  Global  Dragon  2019,
 transportation routes in a reasonable amount of time to allow first re-  held at Guardian Centers of Georgia, Perry, Georgia, May 28,
          2019. Global Dragon is a biannual Air National Guard-led ex-
 sponders to attend to victims.   ercise focusing on career fields across the mission support en-
          terprise in as close to real-world conditions as possible. (U.S.
           Air National Guard photo by Airman Christopher Sherlock)   Air National Guardsmen conduct casualty assessments and security patrols
                                                                  simulate real-world convoy operations in a combat environment.
                                                                  (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman Christopher Sherlock)
 12   TheDISPATCH  July 2019                                                           www.tmd.texas.gov 13
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