COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. —  

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Tarriq Releford, 14th Security Forces Squadron, installation entry controller, was one of four Airmen chosen to represent the USAF at the highly selective, United States Army Sniper School, Apr. 17, 2022, at Fort Benning, Ga.

Releford is the only Airman from Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, selected to attend the course. The Airman is no stranger to working with snipers, as he has experience from a prior base.

“Releford was chosen because of his prior tactical experience, and for his weapons skills,” said Technical Sgt. Tanner Barber, 14th Security Forces Squadron non-commissioned officer in charge, antiterrorism section. “He continually strives to make the entire organization a better place with his positive, happy-go-lucky attitude and his willingness to train fellow airman on tactics that he has learned in other courses.”

U.S. Army Sniper School only allots a small percentage of their class slots to separate branches, so at any given time an Airman could find themselves being the only one there.

“Going into it I was super nervous,” said Releford. “Out of the 51 guys there, only four of us were Air Force. It was very humbling because you realize you aren’t the best. Everyone there had the skills it took to get selected.”

The 53 day course trains selected members with the sniper skills necessary to deliver long range precision fire and the collection of battlefield information. Day one, members complete the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), and must qualify as “expert” during a weapons qualification test with the M4 Rifle.

“You are about 50 meters away, shooting an M4 with iron sights,” said Releford. “You have to shoot 5 rounds and group them together within an inch and a half. You will shoot 25 rounds all together in groups of 5 and 3 out of the 5 groupings must be perfect. The first day 17 people were dropped from the course.”

The course is designed to ensure all selectees gain familiarity with all Sniper Weapons System characteristics, components and functions.

“This course has made me a better Airman because if, or when, the occasion arises that a sniper is needed to complete the mission, I will be ready,” said Releford. “Now that I have sniper capabilities, I can go on sniper missions to reconnaissance and take out the bad guys from distances with accuracy and precision.”

Upon graduation each student has gained experience in planning and executing without compromise, mission context problem solving and can demonstrate a higher understanding of commander’s informational needs during planning and action phases. Releford successful graduated the Basic Sniper Course, Jun. 3, 2022.

“Our goal is to always promote an environment for development and enrichment,” said Barber. “Releford has been equipped with a skill-set that most Defenders do not get the opportunity to attain. The expectation is for him to pass along his experience gained during the class to fortify the marksmanship of all unit members, and offer the Wing a long-range standoff capability that did not exist prior to his attendance.”

By Airman 1st Class Jessica Haynie, 14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs

The 505th Command and Control Wing graduated the sixth and final class of Multi-Domain Warfare Officers, previously known by the Air Force Specialty Code designator “Thirteen Oscar,” during a live-streamed ceremony at Hurlburt Field, Florida, May 20.

For the eleven students, their graduation marks the culmination of a 20-week journey covering 840 hours of intensive joint academics and 310 hours of complex training exercises, which honed their operational-planning skills.

Reflecting the ever-changing operational environment, no two Thirteen Oscar, or 13O, courses were the same.  The five-month training course evolved with every class to ensure leading-edge training focused on preparing the students to lead the operational-planning efforts from competition through conflict. The course’s main focus areas included the command-and-control processes for the air components, employing the joint planning process for air and the joint air targeting cycle, exposure to Agile Combat Employment considerations, development of integrated air and missile defense plans, information operations, non-kinetic operations, and seminars with each joint and functional components.

The Multi-Domain Warfare Officer career field was created in 2019 in response to direction from previous Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Gen. Goldfein, to develop dedicated operational-level C2 experts responsible for integrating joint and coalition capabilities across multiple warfighting domains. The short-lived career field made U.S. Air Force-wide impacts, with 151 total force graduates being employed at 23 locations, including nine combatant command air components, in just under three years. The increased capability these high-quality operational-level planners brought to air components across the globe highlighted to the current CSAF, Gen. C.Q. Brown, the need to expand this expertise beyond a singular career field. As a result of the desire to increase the planning proficiency of all Airmen, the USAF decided to transition away from the AFSC and towards a USAF-wide robust training partnership between Air Combat Command and Air Education and Training Command.

“Even though Class 22A graduates were not awarded the AFSC, they still received exquisite training that will benefit them, the Air Force, and other joint services, as they will be able to lead joint, operational and air planning groups,” said Maj. Marvin-Ray Arida, 705th Training Squadron Thirteen Oscar course manager.  “For those that return to the tactical- or wing-level organizations, their new understanding of how their efforts affect the operational and strategic levels of war act as a force multiplier in and of itself.”

“The students in 13O Initial Skills Training Class 22A have shown great perseverance and flexibility throughout course execution, and I am very proud of their performance,” said Lt. Col. Eric Farquhar, 705th TRS Thirteen Oscar course director.  “The level and depth of training these graduates have received sets them apart from most of their peers in the air component.  As a result, they are uniquely suited to lead planning groups and incorporate a vast array of multi-domain capabilities to help solve very complicated problems.”

The 705th TRS continues to work with joint, coalition, and total force partners to expand the ability of the USAF to plan and execute air operations for a wide range of missions from foreign humanitarian aid and disaster relief to peer-threat major combat operations.

“In conversations with air component and functional component commanders throughout the Air Force, the unique skills and diverse backgrounds of the 13Os that we produced provide critical expertise in complex joint planning environments,” said Lt. Col. Marcus Bryan, 705th TRS commander.  

The eleven newly-graduated officers will now go forward to fill critical C2 billets in air operations centers, air operations groups, air support squadrons, training squadrons, and other air component staffs across the USAF, U.S. Northern Command and U.S. Forces Korea.

In each class, there were students whose performance warrants special recognition. The distinguished graduate of Class 22A was Capt. Benjamin Durdle; Michigan Air National Guard Capt. Megan Serrano was awarded the Academic Ace Award for the highest academic average in the class.

The Odysseus Leadership Award, based academic performance and excellence in leadership, followership, and overall contributions throughout the course, was also awarded to Capt. Benjamin Durdle.

“Playing a critical role in defining, building, and transitioning the 13O AFSC is a proud lineage for the 505th CCW,” said Col. Adam Shelton, 505th Test and Training Group commander.  “To answer the ever-increasing demand from the air components for personnel who can not only plan but also integrate capabilities across all-domains, the 505th CCW is assisting in the evolution of professional military education offerings with AETC/AU [Air University] while also enhancing the C2 Warriors Course as a future capstone offering.”     

To learn more about other command and control training, visit the following website: intelshare.intelink.gov/sites/C2/SitePages/Home.