JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
In a culture that is promoting resilient Airmen through Comprehensive Airman Fitness, there is another program, designed by, and for, U.S. Air Force security forces personnel. Defenders from across the security forces career field attended the training session here Sept. 8-12.
Defender's Edge is performance-enhancing resilience training for defenders with realistic opportunities to prepare them mentally and physically for any situation that may occur in a deployed location or at a member's home installation.
The weeklong resilience fitness initiative began with a classroom portion of training covering subjects such as optimal response, defender mindset, recharging, mind tactics and the use of lethal force. Following the core chapters, the security forces Airmen participated in hands-on application of the topics discussed.
"It is not a PowerPoint presentation, it is a living, breathing entity," said U.S. Air Force Maj. Dennis Turriff, Headquarters Air Force Security Forces Center innovations deputy chief. "The better you instill it into training programs and daily operations, the more successful Airmen will be."
Having trained nearly 500 Airmen since its creation in 2009, Turriff explains that while CAF may act as the blocks of ice in a drinking glass, DEFED is the water that fills the gaps.
"When you try to improve resiliency or improve performance, it really has to be culturally specific," said Dr. Deloria Wilson, HQ AFSFC operations psychologist. "CAF is a good foundation of skills, but defenders have their own set of unique needs, which is what DEFED is designed for."
In an effort to foster the culture of resilient Airmen within security forces units, it is the goal of DEFED that once leaders attend the training, they can return to their home station and incorporate the skills and strategies they gained into unit specific trainings.
"We want this training to be done all the time," Wilson said. "If defenders incorporate the skills they received in their active shooter trainings, their guard mount duties and even commanders' calls, they are getting hundreds of hours of training because they will be doing this all the time."
Defenders are physically and mentally prepared to handle any situation by maintaining readiness and personal accountability strengthened during the training, and due to the success of the DEFED training, it is now mandated by Air Combat Command for security forces personnel.