Operation Avalanche Defender prepares security forces for future
Tech. Sgt. Cameron Gumm, 841st Missile Security Forces Squadron squad leader, left, folds a visibility marker as Tech. Sgt. Daniel Reshef, 841st MSFS flight chief, stands by for the arrival of a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk at Fort William Henry Harrison, Mont., May 31, 2023. The Montana National Guard joined the 841st MSFS for Operation Avalanche Defender, a four-day simulated deployment exercise. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Elora J. McCutcheon)
Operation Avalanche Defender prepares security forces for future
Airmen with the 841st Missile Security Forces Squadron board a bus a Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., May 30, 2023. The bus was a starting point for transportation to an exercise at Fort William Henry Harrison, Mont.; a U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules, and U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk and CH-47 Chinook were also utilized. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Elora J. McCutcheon)
Operation Avalanche Defender prepares security forces for future
Tech. Sgt. Daniel Reshef, 841st Missile Security Forces flight chief, looks out the back of a U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook as it flies to Fort William Henry Harrison, Mont., May 30, 2023. Fort Harrison was the designated location of Operation Avalanche Defender, a four-day exercise that was created based on the Air Force Future Operating Concept. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Elora J. McCutcheon)
Operation Avalanche Defender prepares security forces for future
Airmen with the 841st Missile Security Forces Squadron
board a bus a Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., May 30,
2023. The bus was a starting point for transportation to an
exercise at Fort William Henry Harrison, Mont.; a U.S. Air
Force C-130 Hercules, and U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk
and CH-47 Chinook were also utilized. (U.S. Air Force
photo by Staff Sgt. Elora J. McCutcheon)
Operation Avalanche Defender prepares security forces for future
A U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk arrives at Fort William Henry Harrison, Mont., May 30, 2023. Soldiers with the Montana National Guard provided airlift support for Operation Avalanche Defender, an exercise coordinated and conducted by the 841st Missile Security Forces Squadron at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Elora J. McCutcheon)
Operation Avalanche Defender prepares security forces for future
Airmen with the 841st Missile Security Forces Squadron conduct a team movement exercise during Operation Avalanche Defender at Fort William Henry Harrison, Mont., May 30, 2023. The four-day operation practiced pressing the offense against an enemy force, a critical skillset to fight in the future to deter and stop aggression by peer adversaries. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Elora J. McCutcheon)
Operation Avalanche Defender prepares security forces for future
Airman 1st Class Tyrese Brewer, left, and Airman 1st Class Mahailey Cleaver, 841st Missile Security Forces Squadron missile security operators, await instruction from their team leader during a team movement exercise at Fort William Henry Harrison, Mont., May 30, 2023. The two were joined by nearly 200 other Airmen who participated in Operation Avalanche Defender, the 841st MSFS’s largest exercise yet. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Elora J. McCutcheon)
Operation Avalanche Defender prepares security forces for future
An Airman with the 841st Missile Security Forces Squadron provides a brief prior to a team movement drill at Fort William Henry Harrison, Mont., May 31, 2023. Team movements included in Operation Avalanche Defender, a four-day simulated deployment exercise that also practiced close-quarters combat, weapon employments and medical training. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Elora J. McCutcheon)
Operation Avalanche Defender prepares security forces for future
Airman 1st Samantha Rodarte Leon, 841st Missile Security Forces Squadron missile security operator, aims her M16 carbine toward a simulated enemy during Operation Avalanche Defender at Fort William Henry Harrison, Mont., May 31, 2023. Airmen with the 841st MSFS spent upwards of 12 hours each day during the four-day exercise training close-quarters combat, weapon employments, team movements and medical training. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Elora J. McCutcheon)
Operation Avalanche Defender prepares security forces for future
Airman 1st Class Charles Gross, 841st Missile Security Forces Squadron missile security operator, receives instructions from his team leader during a simulated attack on Fort William Henry Harrison, Mont., May 31, 2023. Gross and his team practiced close-quarters combat and team movements during Operation Avalanche Defender, the 841st MSFS’s biggest exercise yet. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Elora J. McCutcheon)
Operation Avalanche Defender prepares security forces for future
Airman 1st Class Izabel Meyer, left, and Airman 1st Class Samantha Rodarte Leon, 841st Missile Security Forces Squadron missile security operators, take a break between team movement drills at Fort William Henry Harrison, Mont., May 31, 2023. Airmen with the 841st MSFS trained for four days during Operation Avalanche Defender in a simulated deployment environment. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Elora J. McCutcheon)
Operation Avalanche Defender prepares security forces for future
Airmen with the 841st Missile Security Forces Squadron standby for instructions from their team leader during Operation Avalanche Defender at Fort William Henry Harrison, Mont., May 31, 2023. The operation was specifically designed for the 841st MSFS, whose primary mission is to recapture and recover launch facilities spread far and spanning Montana. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Elora J. McCutcheon)
Operation Avalanche Defender prepares security forces for future
Airmen with the 841st Missile Security Forces Squadron
transport a simulated injured teammate via stretcher to an
awaiting U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk at Fort William
Henry Harrison, Mont., May 30, 2023. The Airmen
participated in the four-day Operation Avalanche Defender,
which was designed to exercise close-quarters combat,
weapon employments. Team movements and medical
training. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Elora J.
McCutcheon)
Operation Avalanche Defender prepares security forces for future
Staff Sgt. Howard Trudeau, 841st Missile Security Forces Squadron flight security controller, conducts a buddy carry on a teammate with simulated injuries during Operation Avalanche Defender at Fort William Henry Harrison, Mont., May 31, 2023. The purpose of the operation was to provide critical skillsets to the Defenders: to not stay stagnant, get control of a situation and return to offense. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Elora J. McCutcheon)
Operation Avalanche Defender prepares security forces for future
Airmen with the 841st Missile Security Forces Squadron observe a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk as it departs from Fort William Henry Harrison, Mont., May 31, 2023. The Black Hawk extracted Airmen with simulated injuries from the field in support of Operation Avalanche Defender. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Elora J. McCutcheon)
Operation Avalanche Defender prepares security forces for future
Airmen with the 841st Missile Security Forces observe a U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook as it approaches at Fort William Henry Harrison, Mont., May 31, 2023. Soldiers with the Montana National Guard provided airlift support for Operation Avalanche Defender, the 841st MSFS’s simulated deployment exercise. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Elora J. McCutcheon)
Operation Avalanche Defender prepares security forces for future
Airmen with the 841st Missile Security Forces Squadron rest following the end of a training scenario at Fort William Henry Harrison, Mont., May 31, 2023. The training scenario was part of Operation Avalanche Defender, an exercise designed for the 841st MSFS to get in an offensive mindset and work to maneuver and attack their enemy. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Elora J. McCutcheon)
By Staff Sgt. Elora J. McCutcheon / Published June 8, 2023
FORT WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, Mont,
FORT WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, Mont.— Montana sun blazed down over the shoulders of Mount Helena’s foothills and into a wide plain of tall grass; its presence was dulled only by the scattered rain clouds that provided cool relief for armored security forces personnel running in formations on the ground below.
Operation Avalanche Defender was afoot, and nearly 200 uniformed men and women were arriving in groups via U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook and UH-60 Black Hawk piloted by the Montana National Guard.
The four-day simulated deployment exercise from May 30 to June 2 at Fort William Henry Harrison, Mont., was designed specifically for the 841st Missile Security Forces Squadron at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont.
Airmen of the 841st MSFS spent 96 hours seizing initiative and pressing the offense against an enemy force, a critical skillset to fight in the future and deliver airpower to deter and stop aggression by peer adversary.
“The whole purpose of this exercise is to get [Defenders] in an offensive mindset and actually get out and maneuver to attack their enemy,” said Master Sgt. Kurtis Angevine, 841st MSFS weapons and tactics section chief.
The participating Airmen spent upwards of 12 hours per training day exercising close-quarters combat, weapon employments, team movements and medical training in an environment challenging them with relentless heat, lack of shelter and an expansive, uneven terrain.
Despite the physical demands, the Airmen were a solidified force and worked through the exhaustion. They would gather beneath any shade they could find in between bouts of training and pull crushed snacks from their cargo pockets and plate carriers to share with teammates. When breaks were over, helmets were buckled on and an excited buzz resumed as boots hit the ground.
“There are going to be times we complain about what we do, but then other times where it’s like, ‘We’re gonna do this together, and it sucks, but here we go. Full send,’” said Airman 1st Class Izabel Meyer, 841st MSFS missile security operator. “It’s difficult for people to understand security forces unless they’re in security forces.”
At Malmstrom, one of the primary missions for the missile security forces squadrons is to recapture and recover launch facilities spread far and wide across the missile complex spanning the state.
Meyer and her fellow Defenders are “expected to be masters of defense in ground combat,” according to Angevine, and in order to live up to those expectations they must be trained accordingly.
“You can’t fight to get airborne or fight for air superiority without Defenders on the ground,” Angevine explained, drawing back to the Air Force Future Operating Concept which inspired the exercise. “This [exercise] provides a critical skillset for all Defenders everywhere, in every environment: Don’t stay stagnant, get control of the situation and return to the offense.”
Avalanche Defender is the largest exercise the 841st MSFS has ever done. Everything about its conception was intentional, down to the choice in its legacy name, according to Angevine.
The planning team decided to name the exercise based on Operation Avalanche, which was part of an allied invasion of Italy during World War II.
“In our heads, we figured if [the forward operating base] was an environment where the enemy took the airfield, we would take the offense to take it back and defend it,” Angevine said.
Angevine was on the ground observing the entire exercise from start to finish in order to mentor Airmen as they went along. By the end of each day, his face matched that of those under his care: sunburnt and relaxed with content after completing hours of training.
“My favorite part was when the Defenders were tasked with attacking and seizing the forward operating base,” Angevine began to describe of the operation, which provided a chance to practice larger ground element attacks than usual. “It was dynamic, the Airmen were loud and
aggressive, and it was overall just really exciting. They coordinated all forces in the attack with precision, which showed that they trained hard for this. I am just really proud to be on their team.”
