RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany -- The 700th Contracting Squadron hosted exercise Freedom’s Guardian June 28-29 at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
The exercise was designed to prepare Airmen who have never deployed before for a European Command-based scenario where they focused on supporting allies and strategic partners in the region, and forward operations units.
“It really is the first building block to give Airmen the technical expertise, but also getting them used to operating in this type of environment,” said Lt. Col. Kenneth Herringdine, 700th CONS commander. “Getting them in this bare-base type setup helps change their mindset from operating out of the office.”
Airmen from the 700th CONS, Air Force Installation Contracting Center's 764th Enterprise Sourcing Squadron, 52nd CONS and 435th Construction and Training Squadron partnered for the training exercise.
Forward operating bases have been the focus of the 700th CONS’ contracting support since 2006, however, many Airmen from the 700th CONS have never deployed before.
“In a setting like this, not only do you get one mentor, sometimes you get multiple between the Wing Inspection Team and the trainers,” said Staff Sgt. Kent Pendleton, 700th CONS unit training manager. “It’s something that I wish younger Airman Pendleton would have had the chance prior to my first deployment to do, so I think it’s awesome.”
This year’s Freedom’s Guardian focused on increasing the readiness of the participating Airmen, enabling them to support any mission they are tasked with. The training serves to help Airmen execute the 86th Airlift Wing’s mission of building Airmen, projecting power and building partners.
“It really is the first building block to give Airmen the technical expertise, but also getting them used to operating in this type of environment,” Lt. Col. Kenneth Herringdine, commander of the 700th CONS, said. “Getting them in this bare-base type setup helps change their mindset from operating out of the office.”
Forward operating bases have been the focus of the 700th CONS’ contracting support since 2006, however, many Airmen from the unit have never deployed before.
“In a setting like this, not only do you get one mentor, sometimes you get multiple between the wing inspection team and the trainers,” said Pendleton. “It’s something that I wish younger Airman Pendleton would have had the chance prior to my first deployment to do, so I think it’s awesome.”
This year’s Freedom’s Guardian focused on increasing the readiness of the participating Airmen, enabling them to support any mission they are tasked with. The training served to help Airmen execute the 86th Airlift Wing’s mission of building Airmen, projecting power and building partners.