Saving 'Sergeant Castro'

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Marianique Santos
  • 36th Wing Public Affairs
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam --  Charged with setting up a landing zone in the island of Luzon, Philippines, paratrooper "Sergeant Castro" jumped from an HC-130 Hercules but then lost all communication with controllers. With intelligence showing evidence of his survival, it was up to the Airmen from the 36th Mobility Response Squadron to come to his rescue.

Through a simulated rescue mission, members of the 36th MRS tested their endurance, team work and knowledge at Tarague Beach here May 2.

Three six-man teams completed a four-and-a-half-mile course with seven different challenge station designed to promote team building, physical fitness and squadron morale. In accomplishing these tasks, 36th MRS members demonstrated their proficiency at organizing, equipping and leading cross-functional forces as the initial Air Force presence at forward operating locations across the Pacific area of responsibility.

During training, team members completed a series of challenges to get closer to saving Sergeant Castro. The beginning stations tested the member's physical strengths, while the successive stations tested job knowledge. Airmen learned and practiced tent, satellite communications and aircraft landing zone set up. These are all skills involved in one of 36th MRS' main capabilities: establishing air base openings.

"There are 24 different career fields that work within the 36th MRS: crew chiefs, flight crews, aerial porters, civil engineer Airmen, communication Airmen and more," Master Sgt. Daniel Bolduc, 36th MRS Training flight chief. "These training days spread the wealth of knowledge and familiarized Airmen with what each member brings to the table."

As part of the 36th Contingency Response Group, members of the 36th MRS can receive short-notice deployments anywhere in the Pacific. The coastal and jungle areas on Tarague were intended to simulate different possible deployment locations in the Pacific AOR.

"This terrain and atmosphere enhances training since the environment is very similar to what we will encounter on our deployments," Bolduc said. "From our experiences, it can get as hot or even hotter in locations such as India, the Philippines and Burma."

Prior to the training day, senior NCOs made sure safety was paramount priority. Members also made it a point to remind each other to hydrate and gave constant warnings to teammates about path obstructions that could have caused injury.

"One of the great benefits of this training day is the opportunity to have our senior NCOs go through an entire planning process, which includes risk management," said Lt. Col. Bill Percival, 36th MRS commander. "They have to ask themselves, 'Is it just a form or is it a mindset? Who should I talk to for this?' Then they find the answers. My only guidance to them is that we don't break anybody. If we don't break anybody, then it's a success no matter what."

The training day was concluded with team two getting best time in reaching the finish line and taking first place. Weeks of planning paid off as the day proved to be educational, safe and exhausting, but fun for members of the 36th MRS.

"The planning has been great," said Bolduc. "I've learned the skills that I didn't know my coworkers had. The training day itself was really fun, especially when they found out the twist at the end: that 'Sergeant Castro' was dead, and they had to get with the National Atlantic Treaty Organization air advisor to build a landing strip to accomplish his mission. They cleared the airplane to land and ran up Sanders Slope to put up a marker beacon for the aircraft that had an in-flight emergency."

After a challenging day, 36th MRS Airmen await their next challenge as they continuously work on readiness to support contingency and humanitarian missions all over the Pacific theater.