Firefighter Teams Train in South Dakota

Soldiers from the 181st and 317th Engineer Detachments (Firefighter Teams) – two of the smallest units in the Nebraska Army National Guard – participated in a live burn exercise during their combined annual training, July 28-Aug. 11, at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota. The training area at Ellsworth AFB allowed the Soldier to conduct multiple iterations of breaching and extinguishing controlled live fires burning in a three-story building using JP-8 jet fuel as opposed to propane. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jordan LaPoint, crew chief for fire and emergency services at Ellsworth AFB, said the base can offer training available at only two or three other bases around the world. (Nebraska National Guard photo by Spc. Lisa Crawford)