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HILL AIR FORCE BASE -- The Air Force patrols the skies, but what happens if an enemy tries to attack its bases on the ground?
Hill Air Force Base teams are undergoing a special kind of training to make sure those bases are protected.
Ground combat isn't what you normally think of when you talk about the Air Force.
"It's kind of different with this unit, yeah," said Staff Sgt. Jason Vazquez. But his particular unit from Hill Air Force Base, the 729th Air Control Squadron, has to know how to defend itself in all scenarios.
Their presence on the ground will help America's presence in the air.
"We've put it all together to make sure, as a squadron, we've got our act together and our game is solid," said Lt. Col. Patrich Skendziel of the 729th Air Control Squadron.
Special training exercises in the desert near Wendover are being held for the squadron because of a radar unit that tracks aircraft like jets, planes and helicopters -- keeping control of America's presence in the skies over Iraq and Afghanistan.
This radar equipment is also a target for enemy attacks, meaning these airmen-soldiers always have to be ready.
"We kind of help the Army, and if we get in there and have to set up, we set up," said Staff Sgt. Dan Staley.
Their control stations are manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week, because you never know when a ground unit might need air support. When that happens, seconds count.
"We spent a long time this summer instilling a mindset into these guys," Skendziel said. "They are warriors at heart and they've got it down."
Even though so far it's only training, soon it'll be real -- again. Many of these airmen have already served overseas, and they know what they practice here will matter when it's real: The 729th Air Control Squadron is preparing to deploy to Afghanistan in the near future.
E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com
