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Last Silver Flag on Kadena ends

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Matthew Rochon
  • 554th RED HORSE Squadron Detachment 1 commander
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  May 22 marked the end of an era.

The 554th RED HORSE Squadron, Detachment 1, graduated the sixth and final Silver Flag class of 2013. It was also the last Silver Flag exercise to be held at Kadena.

The cadre of 34 instructors from Detachment 1 provided contingency force support and civil engineer training to 134 trainees, including five Navy and Marine servicemen.

Detachment 1's mission is to provide premier combat support contingency training for Pacific Air Forces civil engineer and force support organizations, including sister service and partner nation forces, and technical assistance for commissioning newly constructed facilities and infrastructure across the Pacific Command.

Detachment 1 offers Silver Flag, a combination of expeditionary skills to include beddown planning and base recovery, as well as specialty training such as crane operator, aircraft arresting barriers and lighting, generator, and fire rescue technician, to more than 1,200 Airmen, sister service and partner nation forces annually. The detachment's mission has grown significantly in both breadth and depth since the detachment's inception, along with an increased emphasis on the importance of combat support.

Commando Prime, as it was originally named, was established in 1985 as a cadre of nine combat engineering training cadre, then located at Kunsan Air Base, Korea. In 1989, Silver Flag was moved to Kadena Air Base under Special Order GA-20, which established the 6118th Combat Support Training Flight.

The unit was eventually aligned as a detachment under the 554th RED HORSE Squadron at Osan, Korea. When the 554th RED HORSE Squadron moved to Northwest Field in Guam, plans were made to marry Detachment 1 with its parent unit in Guam as part of the Pacific Air Forces Regional Training Center.

Moving to Guam will allow the detachment to better accomplish its newest mission set -- to build partner capacity in the Pacific. Detachment 1 has developed a strong partnership with the engineers of the Koku Jieitai (Japan Air Self-Defense Force), and in recent years has conducted various partnering events with the Republic of Korea Air Forces, the Republic of Singapore Air Forces and the Taiwanese Air Force. 

Moving to Guam, where the Security Forces' Commando Warrior combat support training site currently resides, will make the PRTC one of the premier combat support and contingency skills training centers in the Pacific. Currently, the unit is scheduled for initial operating capability in 2015.