Wing shares tricks of trade with multinational counterparts

  • Published
  • By Jasmine DeNamur
  • 919th Special Operations Wing
DUKE FIELD, Fla. --  Reservists here trained with Danish and Jordanian coalition forces while supporting special operations missions overseas in mid August.

The wing sent 20 members from the 711th Special Operations Squadron and nine wing maintainers to support Air Force Special Operations Command taskings for Early Victor 2006, an annual multinational exercise in Jordan. The trip included an initial stop in Denmark to train with the Jaegerkorps, an elite Danish military group equivalent to U.S. Army Special Forces Aug. 14-18.

"The Jaegerkorps are known for their expertise in airdrops," said Maj. Christopher Stegner, 711th SOS primary mission planner. "We saw this as an opportunity to help them out by providing a platform, and in exchange, train our personnel as well. The timing was perfect."

High-altitude low-opening airdrops were conducted anywhere from 10,000, 18,000 and 24,000 feet above sea level, said Lt. Col. Michael Theriot, 711th SOS mission commander. Other joint training included infiltration, exfiltration and aerial re-supply of food and water.

"They were a very sharp, professional and well trained group of people," he said. "We both accomplished a lot of invaluable training while we were there."

When training ended in Denmark, the Duke Field team set out to fulfill Early Victor objectives in Jordan Aug. 19-28.

Missions aboard the MC-130E Combat Talon I aircraft included personnel airdrops, black-out landings, infiltration, exfiltration and night-vision goggle low-level training, said Major Stegner.

A major focus of Early Victor was practicing counterterrorism measures with U.S Army and Middle-eastern SOF through ground and air tactics, to include interoperability training and border security operations, he said.

"The Jordanians were very interested in our special operations equipment as well as how we planned and ran our missions," said Colonel Theriot. "Our technology and expertise impressed them."

The trip came to a close with a cultural day where the Jordanians gave reservists a guided tour of the archeological site of Petra, said Major Stegner.

The experience proved to be beneficial training not only for the aircrew, but for the maintenance team as well, he said.

"The maintenance team was part of a vital structure in completing missions successfully," said Major Stegner. "There were a lot of aircraft problems that without the team, we wouldn't have been able to get to where we were going on time. The overall trip offered excellent training opportunities for everyone involved."

"It's always interesting working with different countries and seeing how they accomplish similar taskings," said Colonel Theriot. "You leave a little bit of what you do with them and take back aspects of the mission that they may do differently. Everybody benefits."

"Exercises like this are great training opportunities for the 919th, especially for the younger crowd," he said. "You can train all you want back home, but these experiences don't amount to the real thing. Nothing at home substitutes for that."