More than 250 Airmen from the 8th Security Forces Squadron participated in combat readiness training here, Aug. 3 to 5.

The purpose of the combat readiness exercise was to prepare Airmen for the base defense portion of the security forces mission.

"CRT shows Airmen an aspect of our career field they aren't used to being exposed to," said Staff Sgt. Courtland Little, 8th Security Forces Squadron augmentee coordinator. "The training we give them is vital to deployed environments, whereas, while stateside, we're working in the law enforcement side of security forces."

During the three-day exercise, security forces Airmen were trained and evaluated on a wide range of skillsets including mounted operations, tactical combat casualty care, improvised explosive device scenarios,  fire team skills, Krav Maga defensive tactics and a wide range of combat-oriented subjects.

"Our goal during a CRT is to get our Airmen prepared for combat," said Staff Sgt. Jonathan Guzman, 8th SFS squad leader.  "It's important for every Airman to learn and apply these skills in case the time comes for them to deploy into combat or defend the base from an adversary."

As Airmen practice applying various wartime tactics, they must learn to work as a team, from the lowest ranking member to the squad leader.

"Your team is your family," said Senior Airman Micah Elrod, 8th SFS response force leader. "You need to be able to trust them to have your back. If a technical sergeant goes down, a staff sergeant or an Airman needs to be able to step up and be able to control the situation."

The training also allows young Airmen to gain a more thorough understanding of what to expect if they were tasked to deploy during future assignments. This will also allow them to lead and train the next generation of Airmen on combat readiness later on in their careers.

"Combatives and enemy gunfire are so spontaneous and erratic that nobody ever knows exactly what is going to happen during a given scenario," Elrod said. "You have to be ready for any situation."