A Day in the Life of an Airman | Video

Amy Fox | 8/20/2012

The Air Force Base in Minot is home to the 91st Missile Wing and 5th Bomb Wing.

"Our primary mission is to actually transport strategic assets outside of the base all across the state to another safe location,” said Lt. Megan Sylvester, Officer in Charge of Convoy Response Force at Minot Air Force Base.

After going through security, my day at Minot Air Force Base began like any other day for the service men and women with some physical training.

Sylvester said, "Our mission, in particular, is susceptible to more vulnerability. That means if there is an emergency, we need to be able to carry all of our weapons and our gear. Be able to run several hundred meters."

In addition to running, as Sylvester explains, the men and women must be strong.

"Calisthenics are kinda what you just saw: running with medicine balls up and down stairs, strength training, push ups, a lot of things that don`t seem so hard that make you sweat."

And, I wasn`t surprised to learn I wasn`t as in shape as I thought, but I did work up a big appetite.

When you`re out in the field, and you can`t get to a kitchen, they have meals ready to eat. Pot roast and vegetables was on the menu today. The MRE included dessert, crackers, juice, meat, fruit, and peanut butter. After enjoying some good military grub, I was ready to go out in the field for training.

But, no carrier vest is complete without a gun.

"It`s a light weight air cool gas operated shoulder assault riffle. Its max range is 3,600 meters for point target and it`s up to 500 meters. For an area target, it`s 600 meters," said Timothy Rooney, Convoy Response Force Leader.

As Rooney explains, the Convoy Response Force takes these practice drills very seriously.

"God forbid we ever actually have to use them, we have to be good at it and accurate and they need to be fired with precision."

My day wrapped up with a mounted reaction contact exercise.

“Every mission we execute off base, we need to be as proficient as possible,” said Sylvester. “You never know when something wrong is going to happen that could interfere with operations, so we need to be prepared for worst case scenario every day."

While I wasn`t able to stick around, the Convoy Response Force was headed back for another work out.

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