Photo By Capt. Christian Little | A U.S. Air Force 824th Base Defense Squadron Airman defends a position during exercise...... read more read more
The U.S. Air Force’s 824th Base Defense Squadron exercised their austere airbase defense readiness during exercise Arduous Ghost at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, April 25-27, 2025.
The 824th BDS friendly forces utilized tactical vehicles, small unmanned aerial systems, heavy weapons and small arms firing blanks, indirect and direct fire from Mk-19 grenade launchers, and reconnaissance and surveillance teams to defend their austere airbase against coordinated and heavily armed opposing forces.
“The BDG is ready for conflict anywhere in the world,” said Lt. Col. Ryan Kiggins, 824th BDS Commander. “Because we train to it day in, day out, we conduct realistic exercises for what the future war is calling for.”
The 820th Base Defense Group mission of austere airbase defense provides the joint force with a capability specifically tailored to enabling Agile Combat Employment (ACE) air operations.
“Exercises like these are essential to Agile Combat Employment,” said Capt. William Lowry, 824th BDS Operations Officer. “It showcases the ability for me to instill mission type orders down to the lowest level and truly have that decentralized execution.”
In this exercise, tactical teams were frequently cut off from communication with their operations center to flex their ability to apply their independent tactical expertise to guide their mission execution on the battlefield.
Implementing these mission type orders and operating with limited communication and guidance from senior leaders requires significant levels of trust and empowerment down to the lowest levels. To ensure every Airman’s proficiency in this, the 820th BDG trains continuously to fulfill their role of airbase defense on the battlefield and operate with a Mission Command leadership philosophy.
“Every exercise gets us a step closer,” Lowry explained. “We identify areas of improvement and things we need to work on. So, ultimately, at the end of the line, when we are Prepare To Deploy, we’re ready to go with whatever the mission may ask and whatever the Air Force asks of us.”
| Date Taken: | 05.20.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.20.2025 13:08 |
| Story ID: | 498474 |
| Location: | MOODY AFB, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 238 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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