434th CES conduct bivouac, contingency exercise

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Katrina Heikkinen
  • 434th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
While most Airmen spent their Saturday night of the September unit training assembly enjoying the comforts of a comfortable bed, 434th Civil Engineer Squadron Airmen spent their night sleeping on a cot as part of a contingency beddown at the CES compound.

Spearheaded by Senior Master Sgt. Jon Raschke, 434th CES emergency management superintendent and Senior Master Sgt. Adam Loos, 434th CES engineering superintendent, the 434th CES conducted an all-encompassing joint bivouac and contingency exercise at Grissom Air Reserve Base, Indiana, Sept. 10.

“The objective of this exercise was to demonstrate a whole squadron response to base recovery, sustainment and protection through a combination of civil engineering and emergency response capabilities,” said Lt. Col. James Ballas, 434th CESquadron commander.

Temporary encampments with minimal facilities – bivouacs – are routinely used by U.S. Armed Forces members deployed down range.

According to Loos, bivouacs are typically erected by CE Airmen – to sustain them for forces who are deployed in combat operations worldwide.

For many Airmen with less than three years’ time-in-service, this was their first field exercise and contingency bivouac.

According to Raschke, the contingency aspect of the exercise – included injecting simulated unexploded ordnance – provided a unique training opportunity for CES Airmen in a variety of Air Force specialties, including electrical, utilities, heating, ventilation, air condition and refrigeration, heavy equipment, structures, power production, engineering, pest management, firefighters, emergency management and explosive ordnance disposal.

“We injected the [simulated] UXO because we wanted to integrate potential wartime scenarios, as well as convoy operations and had the Airmen encounter small arms attacks,” Loos said.

While some Airmen lay in the prone position, gripping their M-16s, firefighters and first responders worked to extract a human dummy following a two-vehicle auto accident involving a simulated improvised explosive device.

“This is what we do – when we’re down range it is our job to not only be able to bed-down, sustain facilities but also provide security for our assets and augment security forces personnel when needed,” Loos said.

The 434th ARW is the largest KC-135R Stratotanker unit in the Air Force Reserve Command. Men and women from the Hoosier Wing routinely deploy around the world in support of the Air Force mission.

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