The Invitational gave an opportunity for AFROTC cadets to participate in AFSPECWAR-themed challenges and teambuilding events, designed to foster leadership, camaraderie and increase awareness of AFSPECWAR career fields.
“This event is intended to build awareness and deeper understanding for our future officers of the Air Force Special Warfare career fields,” said Col. Nathan Colunga, SWTW commander. “As we educate these cadets in a safe, engaging and interactive environment, we generate future Airmen who can educate others on what Air Force Special Warfare is and why it’s crucial to the fight.”
The cadets were split into 20 teams and faced an assortment of challenges designed to test teamwork, leadership and physical fitness. On the evening of November 1 when the cadets arrived, they were introduced to a “monster mash”.
“The first event the cadets participated in is what we refer to as a ‘monster mash’”, said Capt. Matthew Winkeleer, a special tactics officer and organizer of the competition. “This is an initial team-building event that allows the cadets to identify some of the basic attributes that are necessary for AFSPECWAR career fields like communication, physical fitness, problem solving and teamwork.
The next day, the cadets had an early wake up before 6:00 AM and began the day with a fitness competition called the “Basic Fitness Test” in which they conducted as many push-ups, pull-ups and sit-ups for time before embarking on a two-mile run, all as a team. The teams were graded on how many calisthenics they conducted as a group and how long it took them to finish the run together.
“The Basic Fitness Test is a variation of the Initial Fitness Test that all AFSPECWAR candidates must successfully pass,” said Winkeleer. “For this event, only one team member can perform calisthenics at a time, so teams were encouraged to strategize how to complete the event for maximum points.”
The cadets then transitioned to a question-and-answer panel with AFSPECWAR operators and received briefings on all the AFSPECWAR career fields: combat control, pararescue, special reconnaissance, tactical air control party, combat rescue officer, special tactics officer and tactical air control party officer.
These career fields form the Air Force’s offensive ground force that specializes in air-ground integration in hostile, denied and politically sensitive environments to achieve air to ground dominance. These Airmen are employed to gain global access, provide precision strike, and conduct personnel recovery across the spectrum of conflict.
Global access missions consist of finding suitable landing sites for aircraft, surveying them for suitability, setting up the improvised runway with lights and navigational aids, then providing air traffic control services to bring in aircraft. This can be accomplished from a major international airport, on a highway, dry lakebed, desert, or any unimproved area that can fit an aircraft, allowing U.S. and allied forces to project power anywhere in the world by landing aircraft.
Precision strike missions consist of coordinating and controlling airpower to employ accurate munitions onto enemy positions at the forward edge of the battlefield or behind enemy lines.
Personnel recovery missions recover sensitive equipment or rescue, treat, and ex-filtrate friendly forces from the world’s most remote areas. This can be accomplished in the middle of the ocean or atop the world’s highest mountains.
Afterwards, the cadets participated in exercise missions designed to mirror the global access, precision strike and personnel recovery mission sets. They were graded on each mission based on how quickly they completed it and whether they met each mission’s objectives.
“Regardless of the career fields these cadets may enter in the Air Force, they will likely have some type of role in supporting these mission sets in the future. They could be assigned directly to a Special Tactics Squadron, Rescue Squadron, or Air Support Operations Squadron,” said Winkeleer. “They may also be involved in some way with these mission sets based on their future base assignments or taskings; it is important they understand what types of missions they may be supporting directly or indirectly in the future.”
To close out the day, the cadets attended an awards ceremony, where the following winners were announced:
- Top male performer: Cadet Nathan Trevino, University of Texas at San Antonio
- Top female performer: Cadet Ella Dover, Virginia Tech University
- Best team: Embry Riddle Aeronautical University
“Congratulations to all the winners on a well earned victory,” said Colunga. “We would like to express our deepest appreciation to everyone who came out and made the 2024 AFROTC Invitational a success, and we look forward to hosting this event every year here at the home of Air Force Special Warfare training.”
Images from the competition will be uploaded to the following page in the coming weeks: https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/afrotcinvitational2024.
If you are interested in pursuing a career in AFSPECWAR, please visit https://www.specialwarfaretw.af.mil/Potential-Candidates/ or www.AFSPECWAR.com
If you are looking for a training program to prepare you for AFSPECWAR, please visit https://www.specialwarfaretw.af.mil/Portals/69/Pre-accessions%20manual_1.pdf
- Published
- By Special Warfare Training Wing Public Affairs
- Special Warfare Training Wing
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