MCCRADY ARMY NATIONAL GUARD TRAINING CENTER, S.C. –
Members from the South Carolina Army National Guard provided a modified version of Warfighter Skills Training to a class of Joint Base Charleston Airmen at the McCrady ANG Training Center Sept. 25-29, 2017.
“In WST, we review how to hold your weapon, how to move tactically, how to treat casualties on the battlefield and some counter improvised explosive devices training because they are the primary killer of Soldiers overseas,” said Capt. John Seigler, South Carolina ANG pre-mobilization training officer in charge. “These are important skills because even Airmen will find themselves in a convoy, so we combine their training with ours so they know what to look for when they go overseas.”
Army instructors training Airmen provided the services insight into operational similarities and differences between the ways they operate, which allowed the two services to better understand how to work together.
“We love training with the Air Force,” said Seigler. “The Air Force teaches the Army just as much as we teach the Air Force, especially when Airmen show up to this training with positive attitudes and are hungry to learn.”
The training helped foster an understanding of both services, encouraging closer integration into joint units.
“We’ll be in the field together, so we have to have a tight bond and be a family always,” said Airman 1st Class Genise Brewton, 628th Civil Engineer Squadron water and fuels system maintainer. “Our relationship with the Army is kind of like brother and sister. We laugh together, fight together and, at the end of the day, we’re all military together.”
Seigler said the Army instructors were happy with the outcome of the training and believe it was a success because of the positive attitudes of the Airmen.
“It’s rewarding for me to take people and teach them these individual skills and see them put it all together,” said Seigler. “I think this is very important training because fundamentals always come first and this basic WST is a foundation. No matter how specialized your job may be, it all comes back to these basics so it’s extremely important to learn them and know them well.”
Airmen enjoyed the training and benefitted from the Army instructor’s knowledge, which ultimately helped to build more trust and cohesion between the branches.
“I appreciate this training because it has helped me better prepare for an upcoming deployment in January,” said Brewton. “I’m glad I was able to come because if I had gone without this training, I would have deployed not knowing what to expect. This training definitely benefitted me because now I know I can trust my brothers and sisters in arms.”