STAR program trains Airmen to augment security forces

1st Lt. Erin Dorrance
Kaiserslautern American


***image1***Riot control, fire team formations and vehicle
searches are all topics covered in the Selectively Trained and Ready
program.

The 431st Air Base Group graduated its first class of six STAR
augmentees April 7. The graduating Airmen, four from the 700th
Contracting Squadron and two from the 431st Air Base Squadron, were
chosen for the first-ever course on Kapaun.

“When someone completes STAR, they are competent to conduct security
forces’ operations at their home base or at a deployed location,” said
Staff Sgt. David Bean, 431st ABG STAR instructor.  

The five-day course includes classroom and hands-on training, said
Sergeant Bean. Students must pass a series of challenges to include
finding hidden objects placed inside a vehicle during a search, passing
their M-16 qualification and evacuating a building efficiently.  

The 38th Combat Support Wing is one of six U.S. Air Forces in Europe
wings to teach STAR, a program that replaced the READY augmentee
program.  
STAR goes beyond the READY augmentee program in that it adds
expeditionary skills and an overall higher level of combat training.
 

The program, which trains staff sergeants and below, has been
successful and is anticipated to be adopted by several other bases
throughout the Air Force, said Sergeant Bean.  

Royal Air Force Mildenhall adopted the STAR program in June of 2004 and has been extremely happy with its successes.  

“The base is able to maintain their ‘home mission’ during security
forces’ deployments,” said Master Sgt. Walter Washington, USAFE Manager
of United Kingdom Security.  “Base commanders and personnel can be
at ease knowing the mission is taken care of.”  

With Air Force deployments’ high tempo and future force reduction, the
STAR program enables Airmen to be more versatile and expeditionary than
ever before.