HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- Airmen assigned to the 1st Special Operations Wing participated in Mission Ready Airmen Training this month, an exercise aimed at equipping them with the knowledge and capability to operate in diverse environments.
MRAT is a hands-on exercise that is designed to prepare Airmen with the multi-capable skills and mindset needed for deployment and reinforce a warrior ethos while preparing service members to carry out missions both at home and overseas.
“The purpose behind the training is to get different air force specialty codes across the mission support group to train together,” said a 1 SOW unit deployment manager. “We learn how everybody operates and how to integrate with different jobs in an efficient manner.”
Subject matter experts from various squadrons within the group instruct Airmen on foundational skills from each job, supporting agile combat employment, a concept that calls for multi-capable Airmen downrange.
“Our training makes us more rapidly deployable,” said a 1 SOW prime base engineer emergency force manager. “We’re able to effectively bed down a small team with a limited number of personnel." Regardless of their primary specialty, Airmen receive basic training in a number of additional capabilities including explosive ordnance disposal, airfield repair, power production and logistics.
This approach reflects the Air Force’s shift toward ACE, which emphasizes operating in smaller, agile teams that can rapidly deploy and sustain missions in dispersed or contested environments. By training Airmen to take on duties outside their primary specialty, MRAT builds the flexibility needed to support ACE concepts.
“It gives Airmen an understanding of how they might be utilized in an austere environment or contingency location,” said the 1 SOW UDM. “They’re not expected to do just their job and their job alone; they can be augmented to different squadrons to help with anything.”
According to instructors, a mission ready Airman is defined by resourcefulness and flexibility, traits that become critical in dynamic and unpredictable operations. The training is designed not only to sharpen technical expertise but also to instill confidence, teamwork and resilience.
“The desired outcome is for these Airmen to have a go-getter attitude,” said the 1 SOW UDM. “It’s important to understand that this really is one team, one fight and we’re not here to just do our own jobs. It’s a team effort to get the mission executed perfectly.”