Eagle Flag Airmen build tents in tough conditions

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Ron Rogers and Tech. Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
  • Air Mobility Warfare Center Public Affairs
NAVAL AIR ENGINEERING STATION LAKEHURST, N.J. --  Nearly 400 Airmen deployed to support the fictional "421st Air Expeditionary Group" here for Eagle Flag 07-3 are simulating a real world war zone and being tested on their ability to conduct airfield operations and build an air base.

Part of that effort is building the "tent city" for all the students to sleep in and work out of during the exercise.

The Air Mobility Warfare Center's 421st Combat Training Squadron operates the exercise and one of the main training sessions they hold for students at the very start is a four-hour block of training on building the Alaskan tent. It's the most commonly used style of tent used at Eagle Flag and in deployed locations for the Air Force.

"The four-hour block mostly focuses on the fundamentals of the Alaskan shelter," said Tech. Sgt. Marcus Hughes, civil engineering structures craftsman for the 421st CTS and training instructor for the course. "In the training we highlight safety points, proper anchoring of the tents for high winds, and all the basics. We teach the students step-by-step and the training includes a practical hands-on block where they actually build a tent."

Sergeant Hughes noted that the information taught is also found in the Air Force Manual 10-100 - the Airman's Manual. He said the training has really aided the students in the field.

"For building tents, it's important all Airmen have that basic knowledge," Sergeant Hughes said. "We've seen the benefits of that effort in the past few exercises."

For Eagle Flag 07-3, Airmen deployed to the exercise have had to endure near below zero temperatures, frozen ground, snow, ice and a host of other extremes. Those extremes in turn made building tents that much more difficult.

"The ground was frozen so we had to use sledgehammers to pound the stakes in." said Master Sgt. Stephan Hammond, deployed to Eagle Flag from the 60th Civil Engineer Squadron, Travis Air Force Base, Calif. "It was so cold that we had to work for 30 minutes, then rest for 30 minutes. So, because of that, it took longer to get the tents up."

Normally, it takes about two hours to set up a tent, but the cold temperatures added about an extra hour of set-up time.

Sergeant Hammond said by the time they would be all done there would be more than 100 tents ready to house Airmen.

Tech. Sgt. Christopher Lauderback, 571st Contingency Response Group, Travis AFB, Calif., said having training benefited the effort to build the tents for this exercise.

"In a CRG, we train and prepare for all climates." Sergeant Lauderback said. "For this exercise we brought a mechanical hammer with us to help get the stakes in the frozen ground."

Building a base of operations is undoubtedly one of the toughest jobs during Eagle Flag and is one of the few places where this training and practice affects a lot of Airmen, said Staff Sgt. Dustin Humbert, another 421st CTS civil engineer instructor.

"Eagle Flag offers one of the only places, other than basic training, where Airmen can practice the effort to build Alaskan shelters and other facilities in tough conditions," Sergeant Humbert said. "Doing the work is tough and tedious, but I believe it's important to our expeditionary Airmen in today's Air Force."

Eagle Flag is the Air Force's only flag level exercise that tests Airmen in nearly all support career fields on their expeditionary combat support skills, according to the Air Force fact sheet on the exercise. The training provides a dynamic environment with scenarios tailored to exercise combatant commanders and operations in a deployed environment. Lessons learned from the deployed environment in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and other major efforts in the Global War on Terrorism are used in the scenarios for the exercise.