ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. -- The 28th Security Forces Squadron from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., held a multi-faceted field training exercise, dubbed “Cerberus Defender”, simulating a deployed environment with support from the 28th Civil Engineer Squadron and 28th Medical Group, July 15-26, 2024.
Cerberus Defender involved two days of extensive mission planning followed by an additional two days of field exercises establishing a base infrastructure, logistics, communications, and defending the area in a simulated expeditionary environment against oppositional forces.
To properly execute defense measures, Defenders trained on Military Decision-Making Processes, decentralized execution, small unit tactics, Tactical Casualty Combat Care, and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives scenarios including modernized defensive techniques against drone warfare to prepare for real-world combat operations.
“The strategic objective of the exercise is to prepare Defenders’ mindsets for looming conflict, refine Air Base Ground Defense skills, and modernize defensive operations against emerging aerial and ground threats,” said Master Sgt. Jacob Van Dyke, 28th SFS weapons and tactics chief. “This exercise elevated mission-ready Defender’s growth, employed mission command concepts, and matured troop leading procedures.”
During the exercise, teams were tasked with responding to missions away from their established base, testing specific skills used in the field. The exercise’s capstone scenario had Defenders planning and executing a recapture of their base after enemy forces overran it.
“We wanted our Defenders to gain exposure for a base recapture based on lessons learned in the attack at Cooperative Security Location Manda Bay, Kenya,” said Tech. Sgt. John Starcher, non-commissioned officer in charge of training from the 28th SFS. “We learned that we needed more experience in decentralized execution to sharpen independent decision makers that internalize and enact their commander’s intent in dire circumstances and mitigate airfield and base vulnerabilities.”
Preparing for the future of advanced combat, Cerberus Defender also focused on the U.S. role and tactics in potential conflicts with adversaries by implementing disrupted communications and Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), also known as drone warfare.
“Historically, we weren’t focusing on suicide drones or drones that drop payloads because current operations in the Central Command area of responsibility were centered on other tactics in the Global War on Terrorism,” said Starcher. “Now the tides are changing, and we need Defenders to shift their mindset from what we’ve been trained in the past 20 years to expanding the environments and skill sets we’ll be called to use.”
Ellsworth's leaders designed Cerberus Defender to align with the current Global Power Competition, preparing Defenders for the work tempo and skills needed to consistently outmatch peer-level competitors.
“We train to perfect a culture of continuous innovation and improvement through integrated protection which is done best by empowering our Defenders to successfully carry out the mission in any capacity,” said Maj. Alexander Parsons, 28th SFS commander. “Cerberus Defender was designed to deliberately test the team under safe stress while conducting program execution so they can confidently defend and take calculated risks in the field when lives are on the line. Bolstering the warrior spirit with the necessary survival skills keeps us mission-capable, solidifies our resolve, and demonstrates our continued credibility as a world power.”