On Friday, 16 Nov 2007, the AFIT Commandant, Brig Gen Paula Thornhill, proudly witnessed the badging of 73 newly trained Civil Engineer and Services officers into their respective career fields.  The company grade officers graduated from the Civil Engineer and Services School’s initial skills training courses that consist of a resident classroom phase held at AFIT followed by Officer Field Education.  OFE is a week of hands-on contingency training conducted jointly with the 823^rd REDHORSE Squadron/Detachment 1 at the Silver Flag Exercise Site, Tyndall AFB Florida.

Once the CGO students complete the rigorous AFIT in-garrison courses where CE and SVS team to build a bare base from the ground up, they deploy to OFE via airlift from WPAFB to the Silver Flag training site.  Upon arrival, students put their bare base force bed-down plan learned at Wright-Patterson into action by building their very own cantonment area that functions as the primary base of operations for the week’s activities.

CE and SVS students train and live together in austere field conditions for six days that consist of familiarization training on the various assets used by CE and SVS as well as contingency command and control operations.  This is the CE and SVS bread and butter—where the rubber meets the road.  Services Assets include:  field feeding and lodging platforms (SPEK—Single Pallet Expeditionary Kitchens, 550 field kitchen/dining tents, SSSs—Small Shelter Systems), fitness and recreation programs, and field mortuary/search and recovery, as well as command and control.  CE Assets include: heavy equipment (dozers, graders, and fork lifts), AM2 matting, airfield pavements construction/repair, EOD, Mobile Aircraft Arresting Systems, smoke house, revetments, command and control, and much, much more.  On the final day at OFE, the students are challenged with a day-long exercise highlighting the wartime capabilities demonstrated throughout the week.  Students operate not only the command centers, but also the tools of the trade/equipment that are normally operated by enlisted personnel.  What a phenomenal learning environment for not only the students but for the faculty and cadre who bring these airmen together, as well.  Everybody learns something in this experience.

After completion of the Wright-Patterson resident and Tyndall Silver Flag field phases of the course, students were presented their career field badge by Col Kurt Kaisler, Readiness Support Directorate, AF Civil Engineer Support Agency, and Col Fred Ryder, Director of the AF Services Agency.  Brig Gen Thornhill’s comments after participating in her first OFE experience: "Awesome—the importance and capability of what CE and SVS provide in the field is incredible and OFE showcases that capability very well!"

The AFIT Civil Engineer and Services School conducts three initial skills offerings per year, for approximately 250 students annually.  These CE and Services Officers are now Career Field Certified, Badged, ART and SORTS reportable, and most importantly READY TO DEPLOY as a "full, spun-up round" for the commanders in field.