FORT BLISS, Texas -- Nine of Kirtland’s finest defenders graduated from the Iron Training Detachment Fort Bliss Air Assault School at Fort Bliss, Texas, March 11, 2019.
The following Airmen are graduates from Fort Bliss Air Assault School class 004-19: 1st Lt. Austin Drake; Staff Sgts. Richard Marrero and James Tienor; Senior Airmen Kimball Butler and Dakota Spikes; Airman 1st Class’ Gabriel Rodriguez, Tyrone Cook, Dennis Hannas and Andrew Severa.
The Fort Bliss Air Assault School is broken up into three different phases over 10 days qualifying participants to conduct airmobile and air assault helicopter operations, which include aircraft orientation, sling load operations, rappelling and fast-rope techniques. After all phases are complete, participants must ruck 12 miles in under three hours on the last day in order to graduate.
“Statistically, the Air Force has a high success rate,” said U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Mitchell Levart, Iron Training Detachment Fort Bliss Air Assault Course chief. “From what I have seen, it’s harder for the Air Force to get a slot here at the school, so it’s usually the best of the best that get the slot and finish the course.”
The exceptional Airmen sent from Kirtland received this training that is respected and known in joint environments.
“It provides that extra bit of knowledge for Airmen,” said Levart. “Especially since security forces gets attached to different units a lot. If an Airmen that is air assault qualified, gets attached to an Army unit doing sling load missions, that Airman can say, ‘I know what to do here.’ It’s just a force multiplier for the Airmen.”
The Kirtland Airmen that attended recognize the knowledge and usefulness of this joint training and how they gained the opportunity to use it to better themselves, and their home units.
“Getting to work with a completely different branch of the military is a huge benefactor to us because we get to see how the Army operates, how their culture is and on top of that, learn critical skill sets,” said 1st Lt. Austin Drake, 377th Weapons Systems Security Squadron flight commander. “We learned those fire aspect skills that are going to carry over into our duty positions and it’s going to help us succeed and continue to grow as defenders.”
The work that the Kirtland Airmen did was recognized by Master Sgt. Scott Roy, Air Force Security Forces Center Detachment 3 NCOIC of Current Operations and the first Air Force cadre to be an instructor at the Fort Bliss Air Assault School.
“Of course they did outstanding,” said Roy. “They were sent by Maj. Chamberlain [377th SFS commander] who holds his defenders to a high standard. The guys that came here did outstanding. They stuck together and accomplished their goals.”
Ultimately, the goal for the Kirtland Airmen was to graduate together.
“These guys killed it,” said Drake. “I was super humbled to have this group come with me. They were absolutely raised to take names and they performed exceptionally well throughout the duration of the course. We worked as a team, both academically and physically and we came together and knocked this thing out of the park.”