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LINCOLN, Neb. - Nebraska National Guard Soldiers from the 67th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade and 92nd Troop Command, and 15 Airmen from the 155th Air Refueling Wing battled frigid temperatures and aggressive rioters during a National Guard Reaction Force exercise Nov. 23-25, 2013, at Camp Ashland, Neb.
Nebraska Guardsmen learned tactical techniques and procedures to support in a civil disturbance event, formulating a 500-man reaction force that the governor could activate at any moment.
Army Capt. Matt Misfeldt, Joint Force Headquarters physical security officer, and training officer in charge of the exercise said the troops moved into the barracks Friday, followed by leadership briefings providing risk assessments, a general outline of the exercise and how the Guardsmen would be validated.
Saturday, the Guardsmen learned individual tasks to assist in a civil disturbance: riot batons, shield usage, use of force, apprehending and detaining subjects, and moving as a group in a riot formation.
“We spend the entire training year training up to 500 Soldiers and Airmen,” said Misfeldt. “Nebraska is a tier one state and we have 500 trained and ready NGRF Soldiers and Airmen who can provide support to the governor.”
Misfeldt explained NGRF is activated through the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, which is directed by Nebraska’s adjutant general under direction of the governor, and is only activated if civilian authorities request the Guard’s presence.
“Our activation process does not require all 500 at once,” Misfeldt said. “We may provide 100 immediately and build up to that level.”
Misfeldt said the joint exercise was successful and operated smoothly. The Air Guard represents 100 personnel out of the 500 total. Many of the Air Guardsmen serve in security forces, so they are familiar with civil disturbance techniques.
“We work very well with them. The Air Guard that comprised the action force, were from everywhere: Logistics, Operations, Security, Engineers, Public Affairs,” said Misfeldt. “They are all out here playing a role. We ensure they are competent at those tasks and are qualified to conduct this operation. As far as operating jointly, this is how we should operate. We work together to plan the training and we are out here facilitating the training together.”
Army 1st Lt. Daniel Sandoz, Headquarters Headquarters Troop, 134th Cavalry, led the four platoons making up the National Guard Reaction Force company during the exercise, ensuring the platoons operated as a cohesive unit.
Sandoz said, the Guard receives this training to prepare for if a situation larger than local law enforcement can handle alone happens to arise.
“We can put more bodies on the ground than local law enforcement,” said Sandoz. “We can provide 500 fully-trained Soldiers and Airmen to any civil disturbance within the state.”
Real-world missions rely on troops who are fully trained, ready and able to act in a moment’s notice, regardless of which branch they serve. Joint operation training and missions are now common and each branch of service brings diverse skills and potential to the table.
“I think we bring different capabilities,” said Sandoz. “It was neat to be able to work with a different branch. We actually speak the same language so we can all plug right in.”
“We used 15 Airmen in the actual riot control,” Sandoz added. “We had one extraction team of Airmen and a line squad. It worked out really well. They were able to operate the exact same as the Army would operate.”
Sandoz said the basic techniques of riot control are the main tasks these Guardsmen need to retain and know how to perform.
“We needed to train how to operate as squads and full platoons and ultimately as a company. In the real world, you are not just an individual,” said Sandoz. “An individual would never be able to contain a riot. The only way to learn to operate as a full company, is to practice as a full company.”
Air Force Staff Sgt. Jared Stubbendeck, noncommissioned officer in charge of the 15 Airmen training for NGRF, said, “When you sign up for the military, an exercise like this will make you look back on and think, ‘Wow, that was so neat!'”
“This is not something you can do in the civilian world,” said Stubbendeck. “This is one of the perks of being part of the Guard. You are involved in such a different program, so you are going to learn a lot of things.”
“Many people take self-defense courses,” said Stubbendeck. “This teaches you real-world skills to keep yourself and loved ones safe. It is intense physical training. You will hit somebody and you will be hit. This is a very physical thing.”
Air Force Airman Sean Pozehl, 155th Security Forces, has never participated in an NGRF exercise before. Being in security forces for only one year, he quickly earned himself a front-row seat to riot control.
“The purpose of this exercise was to help the Air Guard learn riot control and maintain the front line of a riot,” said Pozehl. “We learned to build extraction teams and how to extract aggressors, the people who are causing or antagonizing a riot to happen. We learned different pressure points and how to properly take down, subdue and handcuff an individual.”
Pozehl said he is glad the Air Guard is included on training exercises such as this.
“It is really important, because the Army is not always going to be there and the Air Force will be on their own,” said Pozehl. “With the evolving military, a lot of it is joint operations. Air Guard and Air Force are getting called to do Army-type operations, so they need to know what they are doing, too.”
“It’s been a lot of fun working with the Army,” said Pozhel. “There has been a lot of joking and jest between Army and Air. They can teach different things they learned in the Army that you didn’t learn in the Air Force.”
During the three-day training exercise, temperatures dipped into the single digits, but the training continued.
“It’s been real cold, but the Air Force has provided us with proper equipment and cold weather gear, so it has not been that bad,” said Pozehl. “Especially once you are focusing on the task at hand, you aren’t really thinking about it.”
Misfeldt said, even though temperatures were less than comfortable, the Air Force and Army had proper facilities, field heaters and cold weather gear to combat the icy winds.
“On the Army side, we are issued cold weather equipment. We operate in all conditions,” said Misfeldt. “But, on the Air Guard side, some of the personnel were pilots or flight crews, so they do not have certain weather equipment. The weather had no impact on training, we just had to accommodate.”
Sandoz explained how the troops dealt with the less-than-perfect climate over the weekend.
“It was a little cold, but we layered up and kept moving,” said Sandoz. “We are wearing more clothing than we normally would, but, as far as the actual training is concerned, we are operating just like we normally would.”
“We can’t control the weather in a real environment, so we are ready to tackle this even if it is cold outside,” Sandoz added. “We did have to take extra precautions using heaters and people rotating in to warm up and go back out again.”
The weekend wrapped up with some chilled, but thoroughly trained Soldiers and Airmen who would be ready to control a civil disturbance, if the need arose.
“This gives the Army flexibility, so we are helping them out,” said Stubbendeck. “The ARNG has 12-16 month deployments, so they may not have a fully trained force. Having our force trained and ready not only gives the ANG experience, but it also helps the ARNG. That is the big picture, Nebraska National Guard working together.”
| Date Taken: | 11.24.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 04.11.2014 16:48 |
| Story ID: | 125611 |
| Location: | LINCOLN, NE, US |
| Web Views: | 165 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Nebraska National Guard Airmen, Soldiers combat riot control exercise, frigid temperatures, by SSgt Mary Thach, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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