OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea -- Opposition forces, manned by team Osan personnel, sporadically and randomly “attacked” areas on base throughout the exercise, ranging from attempts to storm headquarters buildings to breaching perimeter gates.

“Other organizations request these attacks to test their defenses,” said Tech. Sgt. Max J. Cain, 51st SFS contingency operations training NCO in charge. “They want to see how their guys do in force-on-force conflicts.”

The life-like engagements gave the Defenders a plethora of very realistic scenarios to hone their quick response and threat neutralization skills on their home turf.

“We have to be proactive and seek out opportunities like this that may not normally present themselves to you,” said Cain.

The opposition forces are designed to be moving targets; they simulate highly lethal adversaries with a quick scope and large numbers. The Defenders often do not come away unscathed, but even those who are “killed” in the firefights are able to learn from their mistakes and use those lessons in real life encounters.

“Obviously during combat, you’re going to take casualties,” said Staff Sgt. John M. Gavin, 51st SFS evaluations operator. “We want to see if teams can adjust with the members they have on hand. We want to make sure you can still operate missing a team leader.”