Photo By Allen Amani | PORTLAND, Ore. (Oct. 30, 2017) Gunner’s Mate 1st Class Michael Jordan leads a group...... read more read more
The watch is maintained 24 hours a day. They stand all day from morning colors to taps. They stand through the night until the sun slowly creeps up to announce the start of the next day.
While the crew works and when the crew sleeps, our armed sentries are our first line of defense. They must be strong-willed and vigilant at all times. But, before they arm up at the armory, they must first arm their minds with the proper training.
The Security Reaction Force Basic Course (SRF-B), taught on Frank Cable, is a streamlined method to ensure our armed sentries are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to protect the ship and its crew.
“A lot of people only hear about the OC Spray. They’re surprised when they see that we actually teach a large amount of force protection information in a short period of time,” said Gunner’s Mate 1st Class Michael Jordan, antiterrorism training supervisor.
SRF-B is a three-week long, comprehensive course that provides baseline knowledge for people to perform the role of a sentry. In the past, individuals were required to travel to Norfolk to attend the course at the Center for Security Forces (CENSEC).
Machinist’s Mate Weapons 1st Class Alpheus Booth, the primary Antiterrorism training supervisor on board Frank Cable, said CENSEC now trains antiterrorism training supervisors to teach the “Between the Lifelines” version of the course, which is the same curriculum as SRF-B but it can be taught on ships.
“It saves a lot of money because you only have to fly out one or two instructors, train them, and have them teach on board their ships and various other ships,” said Booth.
SRF-B is comprised of two portions. The first, which is approximately two weeks long, is the Navy Security Force Sentry Course. The third week is the Reaction Force Team member basic course. Upon completion of both portions, a Sailor is eligible to perform the responsibilities of a sentry and be a Ship Self Defense Force (SSDF) team member.
“Week one is for self-defense skills which are derived from the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program,” said Booth. “It’s been found that those techniques, for the average person with no background or self-defense, dramatically increase their chances for survival during an altercation.”
The techniques are called Mechanical Advance Control (MAC) holds. Sailors learn these holds as well as several forms of non-lethal force, including the use of oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray. The week is concluded with “OC Spray Day” where Sailors are sprayed in the face with OC and must complete an obstacle course before rinsing it off.
“It gets a Sailor acclimated on what it feels like to be contaminated with OC and still be able to fight through and do their job,” said Booth. “A person could end up panicking if they’ve never felt that before.”
The second week is all about fire arms. Sailors learn marksmanship, weapons conditions and practice weapon retention.
In 2014, a civilian attacked a Sailor from the USS Mahan (DDG 72), stripped him of his weapon and used it to kill another Sailor. Incidents like this show why it is so important that Frank Cable Sailors continue to train even after the SRF-B course is completed so that the lesson stays fresh
in their minds.
“If we get into a situation of stress, we always fall back on our best training,” said Booth. “That also helps us reinforce each other. If I know what you’re supposed to know, I can reinforce that standard.”
The last week is tactical team movements and communication. These skills are reinforced during duty section “Code Black” drills throughout the year. If an armed enemy were to get by the gate sentry, the SSDF will arm up and take action.
“It makes me feel good knowing that I have a direct impact,” said Jordan. “The knowledge that will be gained from this course and the individual’s continued learning will be a direct refection of my training.”
The most recent class produced 20 new well-trained sentries, armed with the knowledge of force protection experts, and ready to assume the watch.
| Date Taken: | 11.17.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 11.30.2017 19:36 |
| Story ID: | 256446 |
| Location: | PORTLAND, OR, US |
| Web Views: | 4,908 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, SRF-B: Preparing to Protect, by Allen Amani, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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