Air Force Materiel Command’s Regional Training Center at Eglin AFB, Fla., has created a “headquarters track” as part of its Brave Defender course, which conducts ground combat skills training for AFMC and Air Force Special Operations Command security forces personnel. The new HQ track targets the AFMC’s senior officer and enlisted SF personnel, providing them “decision-making tools and up-to-date techniques needed to success in a fluid, fast-paced combat environment,” said TSgt. Howard Stahl, who runs the new track. Brave Defender now has five tracks: HQ, leadership, force protection technology, communications specialist, and designated marksman. The airmen in the HQ track arrive two days early to learn essentially how to set up and bed down an SF unit when it deploys to a bare base environment. (Look for Air Force Magazine’s upcoming article on the changes in USAF Security Forces operations.)
The U.S. conducted a series of airstrikes against Islamic State camps in Syria on Oct. 28, as the Pentagon continues its efforts to thwart the militant group from making a comeback.