374 SFS combatives

Airmen face off in pairs on a black mat, combat boots aside. They grapple, struggling to apply joint-locks and chokeholds, manipulating their leverage with techniques that can give a 120-pound woman the advantage over a 230-pound man. These are techniques that every security forces troop in the Air Force must be ready to use for self-defense or the defense of others.  

The 374^th Security Forces Squadron conducts the combatives program quarterly, instructing techniques largely based on jiu-jitsu ground fighting. The techniques teach how to subdue an individual without taking or causing injuries.

“They train us to survive until backup comes,” said Airman 1^st Class Trent Lamb, 374 SFS patrolman. “It can be a dangerous job and all of us should have these skills.”

Staff Sgt. Kiirstyn Gunterman, 374 SFS combatives instructor, explained how security forces Airmen are the key to protecting every base’s flight line and ensuring peace and safety among base populace. That means responding to everything from parking tickets to assaults. Physical contact comes in to play when a person is not following a security forces patrolman’s commands.

“If they try to put their hands on us or another individual, we know what to do.” Gunterman said.

Security forces Airmen must possess a variety of defensive techniques. They are arranged in a hierarchy of minimum to maximum force, of which the lowest level possible is always preferable. The lowest level is talking, designed to deescalate a situation before force is needed. Next is physical force, which can be anything from moving an individual’s hands into handcuffs, to using a headlock to force the person to cease their actions. Next is nonlethal force, such as batons, Tasers and pepper spray. The last resort option is deadly force, consisting of M-4 and M-9 weapons.

The 374 SFS combatives program is open to all Yokota personnel. The skills taught there are useful in situations outside of law enforcement.

Gunterman explained an incident which happened to the master combatives instructor who trained her.

“He was off-duty, walking down a city street when two men tried to jump him,” Gunterman said. “They had weapons to try to take his money and maybe kill him. He was able to fight them off and hold them there until police came.”

Every 374 SFS troop will be alone at times and each of them must be prepared to hold their own until backup arrives. However, it’s not just individuals of average or greater size that can use these techniques to hold their own.

Gunterman, who has been practicing combatives for six years, explained how it can be difficult for a relatively small female like herself to find effective martial arts moves to use against most men. She was a dancer before joining the Air Force and has the small, light frame of one.

“The rear naked neck restraint is the easiest and most fun move for me because it allows me to use my whole body to restrict my opponent’s blood flow and make them stop doing what they’re doing,” Gunterman said. “I used that move to take down a guy in my class who was about 6 foot 10 inches.”

Gunterman had never been in a fight before her career in security forces and she was a bit timid of combatives at first. She explained that the feeling of being able to hold her own in an otherwise all-male class significantly boosted her confidence.

“You never know what level of skill someone has,” Gunterman said. “If a situation does escalate, the officer needs to feel confident.”