YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan -- The 374th Civil Engineer Squadron led a team of augmentees in expedient hardening training at Yokota Air Base, Japan, June 18, 2025. The training aimed to teach participants how to secure mission-critical facilities in the event of a contingency.
Expedient hardening is a process that utilizes different types of materials to strengthen facilities, with techniques tailored to factors such as material availability and equipment. During the training, U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Branden Lashhorn, NCOIC of structures, emphasized the critical role hardening plays in sustaining operations.
“Expedient hardening is vital to maintaining operations during a contingency because it protects critical facilities from being damaged, protecting personnel and allowing the mission to continue,” said Lashhorn. “There are many facilities with specialized functions or equipment that cannot simply be moved to another location, and when we lose those facilities, we lose those specialized functions, which is crucial to the installation's mission.”
Prior to beginning hands-on training, 374 CES augmentees received a briefing on Yokota's base hardening plan. They then proceeded to harden a simulated headquarters building for the 374th Airlift Wing with a five-foot high barricade in a serpentine design.
The combination of classroom instruction and practical application gave augmentees an opportunity to acquire cross-functional training balanced with real-world tasks, preparing them to respond to future contingencies under pressure. This additional manpower is necessary when responding to a threat.
“Every installation plays a role in the military's overall mission, meaning it is imperative to protect our personnel and infrastructure during contingencies through hardening, which demands significant labor,” said Lashhorn.
“Entities cannot harden the base and perform their primary mission. By having augmentees, we can harden the base and continue the mission,” he added. “Time is also a critical factor and training augmentees creates a large force of competent individuals who can be called upon to assemble and operate at a much faster rate.”
Through training events like this, the 374 CES and its augmentees remain ready to secure key assets in any environment, ensuring the 374 AW continues operating as the premier airlift hub in the Indo-Pacific.