JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii - Hawaii and Arizona Air National Guard members completed Home Station Readiness Training at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam on April 7.
The weeklong training prepared Airmen to stand up bare bases and build proficiency for contingency operations.
Seventy members of the Hawaii Air Guard’s 154th Force Support Squadron and 298th Air Defense Group and the 162nd Wing from the Arizona Air National Guard participated in the training.
Master Sgt. Pricilla Kim described the event as a “training facelift.” Silver Flag instructors provided hands-on training to Airmen who are typically busy with wing operations.
A Silver Flag instructor trains Airmen in air base ground defense, base recovery, and contingency response skills.
The HSRT is a biannual requirement, “but with the ACE (Agile Combat Employment) concept, we’re looking to revamp this training in fiscal year ’24,” said Tech. Sgt. Randal Asuncion, base services technician. “We’re looking to do this a lot more often ... and the key thing we want to get out of this is proficiency.”
Planning for this training involved staging equipment like tents and spec kitchens and was conducted mainly by drill-status Guardsmen.
Since the training is constantly changing, having instructors come to Hawaii from Silver Flag on Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Georgia helped Airmen learn the new process and how to implement it during drill weekends.
“This is going to benefit the Airman, to build proficiency,” Asuncion said.
The Hawaii Air National Guard could become an HSRT training location for other Guard units. JBPHH has the training assets, the trainers, the equipment, and the space to conduct all training.
“If we bring them here and we know that we have professional instructors here, then we’re going to guarantee that the training has been done the right way,” Master Sgt. Keith Smith said.
Smith traveled from FSS Silver Flag on Dobbins Air Reserve Base to train members throughout the week. “We’re very excited about the future with the 154th. They’ve always done a great job when they come to visit us and we’re more than happy to come out and train them anytime they need it.”
The training enabled members to work collaboratively with other units and develop relationships, which is invaluable during deployment.