TRAVIS AIR
FORCE BASE, Calif. – Since
August, the 60th Security Forces Squadron at Travis Air Force Base, California,
has been conducting Defender Annual Refresher Training on base in order to
remain one of the nation’s most effective security forces.
DART consolidates 256 hours of ancillary
training into a 30-day course designed to reinforce training integral to the
accomplishment of the 60th SFS mission: providing a safe and secure operating
environment for Team Travis.
“The training includes all their core critical
tasks that they are required to re-certify on annually,” said James Frazier,
60th SFS security forces training instructor. “Things like drug abuse
recognition, field sobriety testing, the use of lethal and less lethal weapons
and the use of force are all covered by the training. We make sure our
defenders have all their critical certifications to accomplish their job.”
When it comes to a suspect with a gun or a
potentially fatal vehicle accident, it’s the mission of the 60th SFS to react
instantly to keep base personnel safe. It’s a mission that requires a special
type of person, said Staff Sgt. Jaime C. Tovar, 60th SFS standardization
evaluations evaluator.
“It certainly takes a particular breed to be
running towards gunfire instead of from it,” said Tovar. “Going through this
training gives me pride knowing that we [the 60th SFS] are all in the same
fight. I can trust the person to the left or right of me to have my back when
the situation becomes dire.”
DART is required for all 60th SFS Airmen from
the rank of airman basic to technical sergeant and first and second lieutenants.
Vital to the training are simulated “real world” and practical scenarios that
help the defenders bridge the divide between procedure and instinct.
“When you’re in a life or death situation,
there’s no room for mistakes,” said Tovar. “A big part of this training is to
drill those mistakes out of us so that when the time comes where we’re the
difference between someone living or dying, we can react without hesitation and
can get that person to safety.”
While the 30-day course is set up to become a
lynchpin in the success of an organization renowned for both its
professionalism and effectiveness, Tovar claims that the time spent fostering
bonds with his fellow defenders has played as important a role as any training
has.
“Working with everyone and being exposed to all
these different people from all these different cultures and backgrounds
definitely builds up a sense of camaraderie between members of the 60th
SFS," said Tovar. “And when it comes down to it, that’s really what the
lifeblood is of what we do here. If you can’t trust the people next to you or
if you don’t believe they can watch your back, our operations can completely
fall apart. So while DART definitely reinforces our core competencies, it also
brings us closer together knowing the capabilities of one another and knowing
we’re on the same page. Even the time we spend at the gates for hours in the
sun or rain or cold is an important part of establishing that trust with your
partners.”
Frazier has
seen that trust firsthand, and having been witness to the skills displayed by
those who have participated in DART, feels safe in the knowledge that the
training has helped to produce a force who has deserved the trust of its
community.
“I have the utmost confidence in these
defenders’ skill sets when they leave our training environment,” said Frazier.
“I sleep well at night knowing our defenders are on watch and protecting our
personnel at all times.”