3rd SFS take part in Commando Warrior

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Christopher Gross
  • 3rd Wing Public Affairs
ELMENDORF AIR FORCE, Alaska --  More than 40 Airmen and three Guardsmen here participated in a security forces operation readiness inspection in January. 

Pacific Air Forces sent members of the 3rd Security Forces Squadron, the 354th SFS from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, and the 176th SFS from Kulis Air National Guard Base, Alaska, on a temporary duty assignment to Anderson AFB, Guam, for 17 days to take part in Commando Warrior Phase II. 

Commando Warrior Phase II was a joint training exercise, which was used as part of the overall evaluation for the upcoming ORI here in June. At that time, the rest of the 3rd Wing will complete its ORI. Master Sgt. Jay Wagner, 3rd SFS NCO in charge of installation, led the team during the ORI in Guam. 

"This was the first time PACAF has gone on to grade at such a high magnitude, the combat portion of the ORI," said Wagner. He has been in the Air Force for 20 years, but has lived here for the past two years. 

The training exercise helped prepare Airmen to deploy to Korea and the desert, Wagner explained. 

Airmen tested weapons such as M-4s, M-249s, M-240s and the M-2s. They were also tested in how well they could perform in base detection, entry control, dismantle patrolling and the leadership role. 

Of the 17 days deployed, Airmen spent 13 days in classroom training. The remaining 
four days were spent in field training exercises. 

"This was my ninth JRTC (Joint Readiness Training Center), and I have never taken better squads than this," said Wagner. 

One of the squad members was 25-year-old Staff Sgt. Devon Nodland, a 3rd SFS desk sergeant who has been in the Air Force almost eight years with nearly three at Elmendorf. Nodland, originally from Hazen, N.D., was identified as top performer. 

"You don't really think about it when you're there," he said regarding the training. 

While this was Nodland's fifth trip to JRTC, it was his first opportunity to be a squad leader. It usually takes 10 to 13 years to be a squad leader, said Wagner it shows how much confidence leadership takes in Nodland. 

Nodland spoke highly of the squad he led. "They were one of the most responsive set of Airmen ever," he said. 

Nodland has higher hopes for next year.