Shoot. Move. Communicate.

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Kyle Brasier
  • 482nd Fighter Wing
In the blazing sun of a South Florida afternoon, the sound of gun shots ring out as members of the 482nd Security Forces Squadron conduct a “shoot, move, and communicate” training event.

Tech Sgt. Justin Rickles, assistant flight chief, Security Forces Squadron, the training facilitator said, “The training is on how to shoot, move, and communicate under fire, deployed or home station - allowing you to actively engage a threat, communicate with your partner, and move as a team.”

Airmen use calculated teamwork to maneuver towards a “threat” using cover and natural concealment. While half of the team is moving, the other is providing cover fire.

“The benefit to this course is that the Air Force Security forces center has set up standardize commands across the force, and across the career field, for shoot move and communicate.” Said Rickles, “I could meet up with Airmen from a base in Texas or California, and we all are trained on the exact same commands and the exact same tactics.”

The training is an annual event using sim-munitions, which are a small, plastic, non-lethal projectiles fired from the M-4 rifle or M-9 pistol, and leave a paint mark on the object they hit. This allows for the most realistic training that the airman can safely receive.

“The sim-muntions bring in reality. A lot of airmen don’t get this training, they only use blanks,” said Staff Sgt. Andrew Caro, team leader, who went through the training. “Once you get hit, you know you’ve been hit, and it puts it into perspective.”

At the end of the day, sweat was running down the faces of the participants, but valuable lessons were learned. Everyone left in high sprits knowing they were better prepared for real-world threats.