TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – The 821st Contingency Response Squadron facilitated a Multi-Capable Airmen training Dec. 13-15, 2021, at Travis Air Force Base, California, to ensure readiness towards the broad range of the CR mission.
The MCA training is focused on enhancing Airmen’s proficiencies while learning and performing duties that are outside their daily job responsibilities, making them ready and adaptable to different work environments.
“The CR world is multi-capable in the first place. We can’t get a mission done if each person only does what they know and what their job title says,” said Capt. Kristy Leachman, 821st CRS assistant operations officer. “Fundamentally, we have to be multi-capable Airmen. The training strengthens those skills and emphasizes the skills that we think are the heaviest hitting for the CR specifically.”
Airmen assigned to the 821st CRS are required to go through this training twice a year. This month, the team welcomed Airmen from the 821st CRG and the 60th Logistics Readiness Squadron to join and participate in the training.
“The Air Force is moving towards this multi-capable Airman concept of everyone being able to help each other out and do additional jobs. The CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear) training was specifically important because rather than just hitting on the basic survival skills you learn during CBRN defense course, now we can teach them those additional capabilities that we bring to the table,” said Staff Sgt. Daria Huckabone, 821st CRS emergency manager.
According to Huckabone, historically, only emergency managers use the detection equipment. With MCA training, they may now be able to grab a porter or a defender to use that equipment. When they are out there with a limited number of folks, they can have other Airmen learn these additional jobs as it will help bring more to the fight.
Every MCA training, Airmen are expected to accomplish one each of logistics, defense and expeditionary skills. The nature of being in a CR team is that the Airmen are required to always be ready to assist with a full array of duties.
“Wherever we go, we are not always going to have a technical expert on literally everything that we face. It is important that our folks know how to be proficient at pretty much anything,” said Leachman. “As long as it’s safe, if there is something that needs to be done, figure it out and let’s go.”