Page 15 - Desert Lightning News April 7, 2017

From OPFOR, Page 1
entire objective here is to make sure these guys are ready to go. The more prepared they are to go out the door in a real-world sce- nario, the better we did our job.
“Too often these rescue exercises are ‘cut and paste, fly-in, fly-out’ scenarios,” Burleson said. “So they aren’t used to dealing with op- position forces, and realistically, that’s what would happen. The more we challenge them, the better prepared they are.”
Dressed in middle-eastern garb, Airmen from the 563rd OSS do their best to mimic scenarios and portray life-like downrange conditions.
“We (the 563rd OSS) want to make the best and the most realistic scenarios so that the training environment is as close to the
real thing as possible,” Burleson said. “This way the first time these guys encounter an opposition force in real life won’t be in com- bat. Even though the real thing may feel dif- ferent, the more accurate we can be now, the less of a shock it is for these guys when they go downrange.”
OPFOR offers the realistic training that is tactically similar to a scene that could play out in one of many locations while U.S. troops are deployed.
“We bring equipment that heightens the realism, like a 50-cal and an IR threat simu- lator, realistic attire and simulated weapons,” said Senior Airman Keaton Houser, 563rd OSS rigger. “These exercises would be total-
ly different without us here. I don’t think it would be nearly as valuable.”
The group was invited to participate be- cause they offer personnel who are trained to fill the OPFOR role, according to Burleson.
“But most of all, we’re a group of people who are passionate to go out, do this professionally and make it as real as possible,” he said.
Tech. Sgt. Mykal Seqeuria, 563rd OSS rig- ger says he is fortunate.
“I feel really lucky to be part of the 563rd,” he said. “We get to come out here and play the ‘bad guy’ part – shooting, making tacti- cal movements and really stressing out the guys in the field. At the same, we’re offering a great training opportunity.”
Tech. Sgt. Mykal Sequeria, right, and Airmen from the 563rd Operations Support Squad- ron simulate oppositional forces.
FROM LEFT: Staff Sgt. Eric Fullmer, Senior Airman Shane Hardin and Staff Sgt. Nathan Franey, 563rd Operations Support squadron, act as oppositional forces during the training.
Senior Airman Keaton Houser, left, and Tech. Sgt. Mykal Seqeuria, 563rd Operations Sup- port Squadron, use a man-portable, aircraft survivability trainer to simulate threats on an aircraft.
Senior Airman Keaton Houser, 563rd Operations Support Squadron, uses a man-porta- ble aircraft survivability trainer to simulate threats on aircraft during the training.
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