During my visit with the men and women of the 633d Security Forces Squadron at Langley AFB, I learned a simple truth members live by — you have to be prepared for anything. That’s true no matter which job these airmen have.
“We are the defense for the base and everyone on it,” explained Alex Thierwechter, a Senior Airman in the squadron. “We have to do a lot of training, make sure that we’re proficient,” he added.
I watched as Thierwechter and his teammates trained to secure an active threat inside a building on base. While much of the training was off-limits to our cameras, what I saw was fascinating. Each member of the team had a specific role to carry out, with leaders making sure there were no missteps.
I also spent time with airmen learning about military firepower. Inside a classroom, we saw squadron members learning the safety basics of weapons.
“We’re getting into the nitty gritty (…) of how the weapon system works, how to take it apart, the fundamentals that it takes in order to actually fire the weapon,” said Staff Sergeant Rachel Valdez.