Combat skills are ticket home

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Kevin Wallace
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF Mildenhall, England --  Humvees came to a screeching halt with one disabled, and the entire convoy stuck at a choke point.

"This has got to be an ambush," screamed in my mind as my adrenaline skyrocketed and I kept a keen watch protecting the convoy's rear. After all, I was the rear vehicles turret gunner and was charged with keeping the rear clear.

Incoming fire ensued and the convoy commander ordered us to dismount and search for the safest building. From there, we're trained to bunker down, defend, and wait for reinforcements.

One by one, Airmen filed out seeking cover under a nearby building while returning fire the entire time. Next, the troops stacked themselves in protective formations and began to take buildings, one by one, seeking the ideal stronghold.

Fortunately, this all happened in Texas and was only part of 'MOUT' training, where servicemembers practice military operations on urban terrain.

Next time, it could be real.

Time is moving at light-speed now and soon the gorgeous heaths and quaint villages of East Anglia will be replaced by war-torn villages and bullet-riddled cities.

Standing between a delightful land and someplace quite different was combat skills training, where we freshen up on the ground combat skills valuable to survival downrange.

When you mentally place the contrasting countries side by side, it would seem that the longer that CST is, the better, right?

I mean, who'd be in a rush to get out to Afghanistan?

Ah, but that's a catch-22 in itself.

You see, I just returned from CST and can tell you that though ironically safe, preparing for war seems to be just one more bump in the road. What I mean is: the sooner I get downrange, the sooner I come home.

At CST, we learn to move and react under fire, and refresh ourselves on the skills needed to patch up a buddy, should he fall victim to enemy fire or a road-side bomb. If that means getting myself or my friends home, then there's nothing more important than that.