Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers
Encyclopedia
United States Air Force
Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers (RED HORSE) units are the Service's equivalent of the USMC Combat Engineers and Navy Seabees.
RED HORSE squadrons provide the Air Force with a highly mobile civil engineering response force to support contingency and special operations worldwide. Units are self-sufficient, 404-person mobile squadrons capable of rapid response and independent operations in remote, high-threat environments worldwide. They provide heavy repair capability and construction support when requirements exceed normal base civil engineer capabilities and where Army engineer support is not readily available.
RED HORSE units possess weapons, vehicles/equipment and vehicle maintenance, food service, emergency management, contracting, supply and medical equipment and personnel.
RED HORSE's major wartime responsibility is to provide a highly mobile, rapidly deployable, civil engineering response force that is self-sufficient to perform heavy damage repair required for recovery of critical Air Force facilities and utility systems, and aircraft launch and recovery. In addition, it accomplishes engineer support for beddown of weapon systems required to initiate and sustain operations in an austere bare base environment, including remote hostile locations, or locations in a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosives (CBRNE) prone environment.
The primary RED HORSE tasking in peacetime is to train for contingency and wartime operations. It participates regularly in Joint Chiefs of Staff and major command exercises, military operations other than war, and civic action program
s. RED HORSE performs training projects that assist base construction efforts while, at the same time, honing wartime skills. Air Force RED HORSE units possess special capabilities, such as water-well drilling, explosive demolition, aircraft arresting system installation, quarry operations, concrete mobile operations, material testing, expedient facility erection, and concrete and asphalt paving.
Currently, there are four active duty RED HORSE Units, the 819th RED HORSE at Malmstrom Air Force Base
, Montana
, the 820th RED HORSE at Nellis Air Force Base
, Nevada
, the 554th RED HORSE at Andersen Air Force Base
, Guam
, and the 823d RED HORSE at Hurlburt Field
, Florida
. The 1st Expeditionary RED HORSE Group is in the USCENTCOM area of responsibility.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers (RED HORSE) units are the Service's equivalent of the USMC Combat Engineers and Navy Seabees.
RED HORSE squadrons provide the Air Force with a highly mobile civil engineering response force to support contingency and special operations worldwide. Units are self-sufficient, 404-person mobile squadrons capable of rapid response and independent operations in remote, high-threat environments worldwide. They provide heavy repair capability and construction support when requirements exceed normal base civil engineer capabilities and where Army engineer support is not readily available.
RED HORSE units possess weapons, vehicles/equipment and vehicle maintenance, food service, emergency management, contracting, supply and medical equipment and personnel.
RED HORSE's major wartime responsibility is to provide a highly mobile, rapidly deployable, civil engineering response force that is self-sufficient to perform heavy damage repair required for recovery of critical Air Force facilities and utility systems, and aircraft launch and recovery. In addition, it accomplishes engineer support for beddown of weapon systems required to initiate and sustain operations in an austere bare base environment, including remote hostile locations, or locations in a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosives (CBRNE) prone environment.
The primary RED HORSE tasking in peacetime is to train for contingency and wartime operations. It participates regularly in Joint Chiefs of Staff and major command exercises, military operations other than war, and civic action program
Civic action program
A civic action program also known as civic action project is a type of operation designed to assist an area by using the capabilities and resources of a military force or civilian organization to conduct long-term programs or short-term projects...
s. RED HORSE performs training projects that assist base construction efforts while, at the same time, honing wartime skills. Air Force RED HORSE units possess special capabilities, such as water-well drilling, explosive demolition, aircraft arresting system installation, quarry operations, concrete mobile operations, material testing, expedient facility erection, and concrete and asphalt paving.
Currently, there are four active duty RED HORSE Units, the 819th RED HORSE at Malmstrom Air Force Base
Malmstrom Air Force Base
Malmstrom Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place in Cascade County, Montana, United States. It was named in honor of World War II POW Colonel Einar Axel Malmstrom...
, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, the 820th RED HORSE at Nellis Air Force Base
Nellis Air Force Base
Nellis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is under the jurisdiction of Air Combat Command .-Overview:...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, the 554th RED HORSE at Andersen Air Force Base
Andersen Air Force Base
Andersen Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately northeast of Yigo in the United States territory of Guam....
, Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, and the 823d RED HORSE at Hurlburt Field
Hurlburt Field
Hurlburt Field is a U.S. Air Force installation located in Okaloosa County, Florida, immediately west of the Town of Mary Esther. It is part of the greater Eglin Air Force Base reservation, and is home to Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command , the 1st Special Operations Wing , the...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. The 1st Expeditionary RED HORSE Group is in the USCENTCOM area of responsibility.
External links
- Red Horse Association
- 819th RED HORSE Squadron
- 560 RED HORSE Squadron
- The role of Air Force civil engineers in counterinsurgency operations
- Prime Base Engineer Emergency ForcePrime Base Engineer Emergency ForceThe United States Air Force's Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force are rapidly deployable, specialized civil engineer units, that provide a full range of engineering support required to establish, operate, and maintain garrison and contingency airbases....