The 412th Security Forces Squadron hosted the Advanced Combat Training Exercise March 9-15, at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The event brought together 40 personnel from 10 different installations spanning three major commands encompassing eight teams.
The training aimed to address key shortfalls identified in previous training exercises and flag events, ensuring participants received comprehensive instruction and evaluation. The training was structured to assess and develop capabilities at multiple levels, including individual performance, fire team coordination, and squad-level operations.
"The ACTE course provides a crucial opportunity for our developing Airmen and Sergeants to demonstrate their proficiency in essential skills," stated Tech. Sgt. Ricardo Roman, from the 96th Security Forces Squadron, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. "However, there is a discernible gap in the application of fundamental law enforcement and air and ground base defense principles. While home station training programs are in place, we must acknowledge shortcomings at the enterprise level. Increased repetitions of hard and realistic training scenarios of small unit tactics, combatives, close-quarters battle tactics, land navigation and troop leading procedures are paramount to mission success and require focused improvement."
Personnel traveled from Edwards AFB Detachment Plant 42, Eglin AFB, Schriever and Buckley Space Force Bases, Colorado, Vandenberg SFB, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, Dover AFB, Delaware, and Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, to participate in the intensive seven-day event.
Throughout the exercise, participants engaged in a variety of critical combat skills designed to enhance their operational readiness. Training included physical fitness assessments, reaction drills in response to enemy contact, and advanced marksmanship techniques.
Additionally, the event incorporated effects-based weapons analysis, enabling personnel to better understand the impact of different weapons in combat scenarios. A significant focus was placed on countering modern threats, including enemy drone tactics, reinforcing the importance of adaptability in dynamic battlefield environments.
Teams conducted specialized drills to detect, track, and neutralize enemy drones, integrating electronic warfare measures and counter-UAS tactics to mitigate aerial threats. To enhance situational awareness and communication during mission planning and execution, participants utilized the Android Tactical Assault Kit (ATAK), a modernized tool providing real-time data sharing, mapping, and coordination capabilities.
Integrating ATAK allowed teams to streamline decision-making, track movements, and improve overall operational effectiveness. By incorporating these advanced technologies alongside traditional combat training, the exercise ensured personnel could respond effectively to evolving threats in both conventional and unconventional combat settings.
The exercise also featured an Air and Ground Base Defense working group, led by the eight team coaches, who played a crucial role in mentoring participants and driving problem-solving efforts. Each coach brought a specific problem set from their home station, allowing for a cross-installation exchange of ideas aimed at improving, solving, or offering innovative solutions to real-world security challenges.
Throughout the week, teams collaborated under their coaches’ guidance to address four major topics critical to enhancing overall security posture. This structured approach ensured that lessons learned were not only applicable within the training environment but also transferable to installations across multiple commands, fostering innovative strategies to strengthen Air Force asset protection in diverse operational settings.
The event culminated in an Agile Combat Employment (ACE) force-on-force exercise, serving as the capstone event to test all learned skills in a realistic combat scenario. The final exercise reinforced the integration of tactical knowledge, teamwork and adaptability under pressure. By combining foundational skills with advanced combat techniques, the 412th SFS’s training event successfully enhanced the operational capabilities of its participants.
The inclusion of home-station problem sets, ATAK integration, counter-drone tactics, and working group discussions further ensured that lessons learned would translate into real-world improvements across multiple installations, reinforcing the Air Force’s commitment to readiness, innovation, and excellence in security operations.
“The ACTE offered Defenders from across AFMC to test their combat skills and remember the lessons learned from Tan Son Nhut, Vietnam, to Manda Bay,” said Lt. Col. Partick Gordon, 412th SFS commander. “The hundreds of manhours and roughly $84K put into the effort helps us learn by doing and not by dying.”
Senior Airman Hernan Bahena, 88th Security Forces Squadron, and Staff Sgt. Grant Baker, 412th SFS, secure their area during the 412th Security Forces Squadron’s Advanced Combat Training Exercise at Edwards Air Force Base, California, March 14. (Air Force photo by James West) 
Senior Airman Christian Higgenbotham, 30th Security Forces Squadron, uses a compass during the 412th Security Forces Squadron’s Advanced Combat Training Exercise at Edwards Air Force Base, California, March 14. (Air Force photo by James West) 
Two Security Forces Airmen fight for position and positive control of a weapon during the combatives portion of the 412th Security Forces Squadron’s Advanced Combat Training Exercise at Edwards Air Force Base, California, March 12. (Air Force photo by Blaine Torres) 
Lt. Col. Patrick Gordon, 412th Security Forces Commander, provides his opening statements during the first day of the 412th Security Forces Squadron’s Advanced Combat Training Exercise, March 9. The ACTE, which went from March 9-15, aimed to address key shortfalls identified in previous training exercises and flag events, ensuring participants received comprehensive instruction and evaluation. The training was structured to assess and develop capabilities at multiple levels, including individual performance, fire team coordination, and squad-level operations. (Air Force photo by C.J. Raterman) 
Senior Airman Natasha Ireland, 96th Security Forces Squadron, attempts to gain positive control of her opponent’s weapon during the combatives portion of the 412th Security Forces Squadron’s Advanced Combat Training Exercise at Edwards Air Force Base, California, March 12. (Air Force photo by Blaine Torres) 
Tech. Sgt. Carlos Mendez, 412th Security Forces Squadron shoots at a target during the marksmanship portion of the 412th Security Forces Squadron’s Advanced Combat Training Exercise as Tech. Sgt. Christopher Meersman, 412th SFS, looks on at Edwards Air Force Base, California, March 11. (Air Force photo by Madeline Guadarrama) 
Senior Airman Anthony Carfiro, 412th Security Forces Squadron engages targets during the marksmanship portion of the 412th Security Forces Squadron’s Advanced Combat Training Exercise at Edwards Air Force Base, California, March 11. (Air Force photo by Madeline Guadarrama) 
Staff Sgt. Ratha Lay, 436th Security Forces Squadron, out of Dover Air Force Base, conducts pushups during the physical fitness assessment phase the 412th Security Forces Squadron’s Advanced Combat Training Exercise at Edwards Air Force Base, California, March 10 (Air Force photo by Daniel Kelley) 
Staff Sgt. Parker Smith, out of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, Staff Sgt. Ratha Lay, 436th Security Forces Squadron, of Dover Air Force, Delaware, begin their run during the 412th Security Forces Squadron’s Advanced Combat Training Exercise at Edwards Air Force Base, California, March 10 (Air Force photo by Daniel Kelley)