KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- Airmen from the 8th Civil Engineer Squadron conducted monthly Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force or “Prime BEEF” training at Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea, Oct. 19.
The Prime BEEF program focuses on core competencies designed to leverage all 12 civil engineer Air Force Specialty Code capabilities, providing a full range of civil engineering support required to establish, operate and maintain contingency air bases.
“Our multi-functional Airmen are expected to be proficient at their job and possess a solid foundational understanding of the other jobs within the scope of our career field,” said Tech. Sgt. Martin Ortiz, 8th CES electrical systems non-commissioned officer in charge, and previous contingency training instructor.
Prime BEEF training not only familiarizes 8th CES Airmen with other AFSC core competencies but also allows the squadron to revisit areas of expertise that may be overlooked during larger operations.
“Rapid airfield damage recovery or RADR operations are common during base-wide exercises,” said Ortiz. “We catered this training to ensure our Airmen are prepared to deal with different aspects of RADR operations.”
The training consisted of six different stations that ranged from water mitigation to establishing fiberglass-reinforced polymer mats that act as an alternate runway in a contingency environment.
“I was assigned to the emergency operations center during the last two contingency exercises requiring RADR response,” said Senior Airman Joey Wildman, 8th CES execution support non-commissioned officer in charge. “Prime BEEF trainings are crucial so Airmen at different levels of expertise can learn new skills, freshen up on the old ones, and essentially understand the overall mission of the squadron regardless of rank or AFSC.”
These trainings are meant to get everyone up to speed from a new E-1 to a seasoned E-9.
“Ultimately, the goal is to equip our Airmen with a full range of civil engineering capabilities to ensure we maintain jets in the air so we’re always ready to fight tonight,” said Ortiz.