Airmen survey the area during a patrol outside Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, which features complex, layered defenses. The Air Force is intent on hardening its bases around the world and preparing to protect forward-deployed squadrons in the event of a war with Russia or China. (Senior Airman Sheila deVera/Air Force)
Air Force Times: Air Force base defenders upgrade weapons, training and fitness standards to meet near-peer threats
Big changes are coming to the Air Force’s base defenders.
The service’s ability to gain air superiority over a peer adversary could soon hinge on a career field that — like the rest of the U.S. military — has become accustomed to primarily combating violent extremism.
But if a conflict with Russia or China breaks out, the Air Force will not be able to rely solely on the other services' ground combat units to protect its assets. Instead, security forces airmen will have to pick up the slack in safeguarding forward-deployed squadrons, and if necessary, repelling major assaults from outside the wire.
To prepare them for such a responsibility, Air Force leadership is pushing new resources, training guidelines and physical assessments out to its defenders.
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WNU Editor: Defending an air force base against militants is far different from defending an air base from a professional military assault.
