Lead the Way: Raging TORO exercise enhances deployment readiness Published Oct. 30, 2020 By Airman Andrea Rozoto 366th Fighter Wing Public Affairs MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho -- The 366th Civil Engineer Squadron held exercise Raging TORO, October 21-23, 2020, to showcase their ability to deploy at a moment’s notice. Approximately 80 Airmen from the 366th CES, the 366th Force Support Squadron and the 366th Security Forces Squadron participated in this exercise. The 366th FSS provided meals along with search and recovery training while the 366th SFS provided tactical training. “Many of these Airmen are coming together for the first time to determine what knowledge base they are currently at and to expand on that base,” said 2nd Lt. Morgen Dieckmann, 366th Civil Engineer Squadron requirements and optimizations officer in charge. CES Airmen are typically responsible for base set up, maintenance, and support during a deployment. Exercises like Raging TORO give Airmen insight on situations they could be put into during a real-world contingency. “We want to find our areas where we are lacking so we can improve upon those skills and be ready for when we do deploy, so we can lead the way,” said Dieckmann. The three-day exercise began by setting up a base camp from scratch. This included eight tents equipped with heating, ventilation, air conditioning and a contingency kitchen that can feed up to 550 Airmen within four hours. Day two began with a series of field exercises, including care under fire, airsoft M4 familiarization, camo concealment, land navigation and tactical communication. There was also medical evacuation training consisting of four fire teams made up of six to seven Airmen. Each team had one injured Airman that was placed on a stretcher and carried out by a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk. To end the second day, Airmen applied their skills by posting in eight different defensive fighting positions around the camp according to their respective fire teams. “During this exercise, it was essential to work as a team in order to gain the confidence we need to perform the tasks at hand,” said Airman 1st Class Alyssia Grundy, 366th Civil Engineer operations management. “This exercise allowed me to gain a realistic perspective of what to expect downrange.” Airmen rotated shifts in pairs every 45 minutes within a span of four hours, taking on different enemy attacks using M4 airsoft weapons. The enemy attacks came from the 366th Explosive Ordinance Disposal Flight, who raided the camp and compromised radio signals to challenge the Airmen on a multitude of levels. “It’s important to practice how you play,” Dieckmann said. “That’s why we wanted to make this as realistic as possible for the Airmen.”