RED HORSE does it all Published Oct. 26, 2007 By Senior Airman Ali Flisek Public Affairs HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- The 823rd RED HORSE Squadron isn't named that way because they display a ferocious red galloping horse on everything they own. The name is actually an acronym that stands for Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineer. In the mid-1960s, the Air Force lacked the engineering capability to respond quickly and perform missions beyond a base civil engineer squadron. On May 10, 1965, Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara, sent a memorandum to Secretary of the Air Force, Harold Brown, about a Marine operation in which an 8,000 foot runway and a four squadron operation field was to be constructed. He asked if the Air Force had this capability and if not, how it could be developed. Soon after, Maj. Gen. Robert Curtin, Air Force director of civil engineering, initiated a study to determine how best to develop this capability. Their objective was to provide a mobile civil engineering unit, organic to the Air Force that was manned, trained and equipped to perform heavy repairs, upgrade airfields and facilities, and to support weapon systems deployed to a theater of operations. The RED HORSE squadrons were created. The 823rd RHS is one of only four active-duty units in the Air Force of its kind and provides the world's best self-sustaining combat engineering and heavy construction force, rapidly deployable at any time, and any place. When RED HORSE deploys, they take everyone in their unit, lock the doors and head out. Typically, when someone thinks RED HORSE they might think hard core, heavy equipment operator. But the 823rd RHS is much more. They are comprised of four flights; airborne, operations, engineering and logistics. "It takes all of these components to complete the mission," said Col. Steven Hammock, 823rd RED HORSE commander. Airborne operations are unique to the squadron. Their main purpose is to access and certify a potential airfield. They parachute or drop in by helicopter into remote and inaccessible areas and perform testing on the surface to determine if the terrain is safe for aircraft landings and if any repairs need to be made for the land to be utilized. After their initial assessment is made, the follow-on RED HORSE team elements arrive. The team has been involved with many contingencies including having a hand in opening up Bagdad International Airport in early 2003. "The strength is determined by the soil," said Master Sgt. Jeffery Schneberger, superintendent of airborne operations, "We have very sophisticated equipment." The operations flight is a very vast part of the unit, including cantonments, structures, airfields and support. These are the Airman you see constructing buildings, K-Spans, aircraft hangers, and much more. They even have the capability to perform explosive demolition operations. "There is nothing better than seeing a field with nothing on it, coming back several weeks later and seeing people utilizing new facilities you've created," says Senior Master Sgt. Carey Casey, structural superintendent. The Engineering flight is comprised of design and site development. This team conducts site surveys and develops plans for construction requirements. When deployed, RED HORSE relies heavily on their support units. They are completely self-sustaining and highly mobile in that they possess weapons, food service, supply and medical equipment, vehicle/equipment and maintainers. This is just one reason the 823rd RHS is unlike any other. "We take a proactive approach to our mission," explains 1st Lt. Terrell Tillery, 823rd RHS section commander. When RED HORSE is not deployed, they are at home continuously involved with troop training projects. These projects allow the unit to travel to different Air Force bases and take on projects such as runway repairs, water well drilling and site improvements. This year alone, they have 19 projects at nine different bases totaling $12.7 million dollars. The troop training program enables them to transition the knowledge they learned during these times to projects overseas. To them, the best way to gain training is by doing the actual work and learning from those working with you. Always ready for their next deployment, the 823rd Red Horse Squadron looks ahead to be "Ready today to respond tomorrow."