Staff Sgt. Chris Larson, a 119th Civil Engineer Squadron training cadre, red hat, watches members of the visiting 90th Civil Engineer Squadron from F.E. Warren AFB as they use a volumetric mixer for placing quick-setting concrete material into a simulated bomb impact crater for repair at the North Dakota Air National Guard Regional Training Site, Fargo, N.D., Sept. 30, 2021. The visiting engineers are using the Rapid Airfield Damage Recovery (RADR) system for training to repair damage to a 150 feet by 750 feet concrete simulated runway, sectioned off in 20 foot by 20 foot squares for training craters. It is specially designed for making holes in the concrete squares that simulate bomb impact craters that can be repaired with fill and capping material. The Fargo civil engineer training site is one of four in the Air National Guard, and is the first one of those to provide new system for RADR training.
Airmen from the 90th Civil Engineer Squadron traveled to the North Dakota Air National Guard Regional Training Site in Fargo, N.D. to see the new Rapid Airfield Damage Recovery (RADR) training system being used for the first time.
RADR is a process that ensures that if a major airfield is attacked, Airmen will have the tools and knowledge to know what to do and get the airfield back to a fully functional state.
“The idea is if we are at a deployed location and our runway gets hit, we have to be able to go out and repair it in a quick timeline so we can take the fight to the enemy,” said Capt. Casey Parks-Garcia with the 90th CES.
Though F.E. Warren Air Force Base doesn’t have a flight line, many of the 90 CES Airmen deploy. While these skills may not be used at a home station, being prepared for anything helps make the Air Force versatile.
“Firstly, we’re not realistically expecting anyone to be blowing holes in our CONUS runways, and secondly, F.E. Warren doesn’t have a runway, to begin with,” said Parks-Garcia. “As such, we don’t have any of the necessary heavy equipment or materials to complete this training, and because CE has so much repair and maintenance to do to keep F.E. Warren up and running, it’s pretty difficult for us to set aside time to actually accomplish this training.”
Without this training, Airmen could be placed in a situation they’re unable to handle.
“Had it not been for this, many of our Airmen could have gone downrange without having practiced the RDR process, and they could have been asked to execute a complicated procedure in an emergency situation without having seen it before,” said Parks-Garcia.
