WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- 442nd Civil Engineer Squadron troops donned full "battle rattle" and took to the field during a January unit training assembly exercise to focus on improving tactical skills, including individual and team movement, sweep and clear operations, entry control point and vehicle search, and enemy prisoner of war challenging.

The training is part of the ground-combat skills used by the CE troops and will be employed in transition day activities during October's operational readiness inspection.

"All of those things will be part of the ORI," said Master Sgt. Nathan Hooton, 442nd CES. "(We'll need) to show that we have a working knowledge to actually perform them."

To ensure the training was accurate and effective, the engineers enlisted the support of 442nd Security Forces Squadron members.

"The focus was to establish a foundation in each of these areas that could be built upon over the coming months," said Master Sgt. Mitch Dorl, 442nd SFS.

Sergeant Hooton said his troops were very grateful to SFS for the training and planned to put it to good use in exercises over the next several months before the ORI. He said that each successive exercise will be increasingly more intense than the previous one. The goal is to get the engineers used to operating in tactical gear while performing their usual jobs, effectively defending their positions against enemy attacks and also making certain they are at their sharpest for the ORI.

"It was very positive," Sergeant Hooton said of the experience. "It motivated everybody, let them know where they are and what they need to do to get ready."

Sergeant Dorl said the CE troops were great students and came through the training well.

"The hustle and cooperation seen throughout the day was outstanding," Sergeant Dorl said. "It was obvious from the beginning - these warriors came to train, and indeed they did!"