EOD Airmen participate in Audacious Warrior exercise at Fort McCoy, Volk Field

BY STAFF SGT. CAMERON LEWIS

115th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

Wisconsin Air National Guard

Since 2017, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) technicians from units throughout the Air National Guard have been pushing their skills to the limits during the ever-growing Audacious Warrior Training Exercise held annually at Fort McCoy and Volk Field, Wis.

While the annual training has already been considered a huge success, this year’s exercise that took place July 18-30, was significantly expanded with the inclusion of security forces and intelligence Airmen.

“This year is the first time an intelligence unit has been involved in Audacious Warrior, and we hope to remain a part of it in the future,” said 1st Lt. Rebecca Peterson, an intelligence officer assigned to North Dakota Air National Guard’s 119th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group, Fargo Air National Guard Base, N.D. “By providing the most up-to-date information on what’s going on overseas, the instructors can now create enhanced training scenarios that are aligned with what we are currently seeing in combat environments.”

While EOD remains trained and ready to deploy at a moment’s notice, they must also be trained and prepared to provide EOD capabilities for defense support to civil authorities (DSCA) missions.

“Being able to work hand in hand with security forces and local police departments is imperative to the success of our mission,” said Chief Master Sgt. Gilbert Holcomb, EOD program manager with the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing (FW) at Truax Field in Madison. “Having security forces join us during Audacious Warrior provides a better understanding of how each unit operates and how we can efficiently support each other.”

Having Volk Field and Fort McCoy in such close proximity allows teams to actively train for both DSCA and deployed operations during the same exercise.

“We simulate a deployed environment and utilize live demolitions at Fort McCoy while others train for defense support to civil authorities at Volk Field,” said Master Sgt. Matthew Vandermolen, an EOD technician assigned to the 115th FW. “Audacious Warrior truly does offer the best training for both aspects of our mission.”

In 2017, Chief Master Sgt. Edward Smith, who then was the 115th’s EOD chief, said any time someone puts their life on the line to defuse a bomb or an explosive device, it can be considered a willingness to take surprisingly bold risks, which is one definition of “audacious.”

“That’s why I thought Exercise Audacious Warrior was the perfect name for our exercise,” Smith said during field training at Fort McCoy for the exercise in 2017. “This is an exercise that allows them more hands-on training with the tools of their trade. … At Fort McCoy, with support … and the spaces available, we are able to add more realism to give these EOD Airmen the kind of training they need to stay on the cutting edge of readiness for future responses.”

Holcomb added in 2017’s exercise that “bringing all these Airmen together here to train really provides an excellent opportunity for them to share ideas and information. In a career field as small as ours, sharing the (tactics, techniques, and procedures) that are successful is crucial to ensuring everyone’s success.”

(The Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office contributed information to this article.)