NIAGARA FALLS AIR RESERVE STATION, N.Y. -- Four members from the 914th Air Refueling Wing recently participated in a joint-service exercise known as Operation Trident.
914th Security Forces Squadron Reserve Citizen Airmen, Tech. Sgt. Justin Long, Staff Sgt. Thomas Calamita, and Staff Sgt. Ryan Anderson, along with Staff Sgt. Jason Berg, 914th Civil Engineer Squadron / Explosive Ordinance Disposal, spent two weeks at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, a U.S. Army Post with 1.12 million acres of land in Texas and New Mexico, July 9-22, 2018.
Operation Trident is an exercise in which Navy Seals train U.S. military personnel in the same way they would train a partner or ally force overseas. This training is essentially a dry run for the Seals to evaluate the effectiveness of training techniques. For participants, Operation Trident is an opportunity to receive additional training with the benefit of collaborating with other branches of the U.S. military.
“The big thing is to see how other branches of the military do their training,” said Tech. Sgt. Long.
Long said that comparing tactics makes it possible to fine-tune procedures in order to find the most efficient ways to conduct duties.
Players from the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force were trained on mounted patrols: keeping watch through open desert and infiltrating villages, seeking out highly valued assets and targets.
This is the second time members of the 914th SFS have participated in Operation Trident, and a first for the 914th EOD. Plans are being made to send more members for future installments.