KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- Junior-enlistedSecurity Forces Airmen stepped into tactical leadership roles during their final evaluation and graduation of the inaugural Entry Controller Leaders Course on Kirtland Air Force Base, N. M., May 8, 2026.
The professional development program is the first of its kind at Kirtland Air Force Base and is designed to transition junior Defenders into supervisory management positions overseeing installation entry control points and frontline security operations.
To qualify for the rigorous curriculum, members were required to maintain a passing physical training test and receive a formal recommendation from their flight chief. Throughout the intensive three-day course, students focused on integrated defense protocols and advanced supervisory techniques.
“The ECLC program is important due to the skills they learn, setting the standard for the first line of defense here at Kirtland AFB,” said Senior Master Sgt. Michael S. Jones, 377th Security Forces Squadron operations superintendent. “This course focuses more on the details of law enforcement operations regarding situations that could arise at any installation access point such as a gate runner, bomb threat or a hostile individual.”
The ECLC curriculum ensures that security forces personnel are highly trained and ready to manage complex security scenarios under pressure.
“They get one-on-one training and multiple realistic scenarios with immediate feedback,” Jones said. “We are instilling in them to pass down the knowledge and skills they learned to their wingmen that work with them at the gates, giving them that first taste of what it is like to be a front-line supervisor.”
The capstone evaluation tested the students’ ability to make split-second decisions and manage their teams effectively during simulated security incidents. Upon the successful completion of the course, graduates are awarded a certificate, officially designating them as certified installation access controllers.
“They will step into the role as Entry Controller Leader, earning their tab to be worn on their uniform identifying them as a ‘First Knight,’” Jones said. “It will be their responsibility of safety, security and training of all personnel assigned to their shift.”
Senior Airman Terrell Blackwood 377 SFS defender, the course superior performer, noted the importance of the instructor-led training during the final evaluations.
“I will say for the course evaluations and the practical’s, they were challenging; however, with our instructors really breaking down and teaching everything needed to do good on them, I feel like it helped a lot,” Blackwood said. “The course has prepared me for my new role as a leader by helping me get more confident in myself when handling certain situations like gate runners, foreign nationals or bomb threats.”
Blackwood added that the training extended beyond tactical scenarios to the administrative requirements of a leader.
“Not only did the course help me more confident in handling those situations, but as well as the after-action reports which requires paperwork,” said Blackwood.
The graduation of the first ECLC class highlights the 377 SFS’s ongoing commitment to Defender excellence and mission readiness. As these newly certified leaders return to their respective flights, they are better equipped to lead the personnel while serving as the installation’s first line of defense.
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