FORT DEVENS, Mass. – Nearly 200 Air National Guard civil engineers moved through dense terrain carrying weapons and combat equipment, navigated without relying on Global Positioning System, operated tactical vehicle convoys, treated simulated casualties under fire and defended an air base against an opposing force during Patriot Forge II Aug. 10-15.
Each task supported a larger objective: preparing civil engineers to survive, adapt and continue enabling airpower in a contested environment.
Patriot Forge II brought together Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force (or Prime BEEF), Airmen from the 101st, 102nd, 103rd and 157th Civil Engineer Squadrons, along with supporting personnel from their respective wings. Airmen from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut trained side by side during the Region 1 field training exercise.
The six-day event was designed to establish a common baseline of expeditionary combat capability across the region and prepare civil engineers to support Agile Combat Employment and distributed airpower.
“Patriot Forge II is all about readiness,” said Lt. Col. Brett Bailey, 157th Civil Engineer Squadron commander and overall commander for the exercise. “That’s the biggest thing. We’re accomplishing our readiness requirements here.”
Civil engineer squadrons include a wide range of specialties, including electricians, firefighters, plumbers, heavy equipment operators, emergency managers and water and fuel systems specialists. Their technical capabilities enable Air Force missions to operate from established bases and austere locations.
Patriot Forge II focused on what Airmen may have to do before, during and after performing those technical jobs. Those capabilities are increasingly important as the Air Force prepares to operate from dispersed locations against sophisticated adversaries. Under Agile Combat Employment, forces may be required to operate in smaller teams with fewer resources and less predictable support than at traditional installations.
The exercise used four daylong training modules — mounted operations, dismounted operations, land navigation and integrated base defense — to develop the combat skills Airmen need to reach, protect and continue the mission.
During mounted operations, Airmen learned the fundamentals of tactical vehicle operations before progressing to convoy scenarios. Students rotated through vehicle positions, including driver, radio operator and turret positions, requiring them to communicate and function as a crew while moving through unfamiliar terrain.
The training provided experience many Airmen do not routinely receive during home-station drill weekends and reinforced that deployed teams may include personnel from multiple units.
“Patriot Forge II pooled personnel, vehicles, instructors and logistical support from across New England, creating a training event that would be difficult for any single squadron to execute independently,” Bailey said. “The scale of the exercise allowed units to leverage their collective resources while exposing Airmen to teammates they may not normally work with.”
The dismounted operations module took Airmen out of their vehicles and across Fort Devens’ South Post carrying approximately 50 pounds of individual combat equipment while practicing small-team movement, tactical communications and defensive techniques. When teams encountered simulated opposing forces, they were required to react, maintain security and care for simulated casualties.