137th SOW security forces participate in Oklahoma County Sheriff SWAT training
Four participants in SWAT training conducted by the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office slowly work to clear a dormitory rooms in a hallway while looking for an instructor who is acting as an armed threat at Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Okla., on Nov. 5, 2019. The two SWAT team members from Ardmore Police Department in Ardmore, Okla., secured the hallway as two members of the 137th Special Operations Security Forces Squadron approach a doorway. Nick Deniwellis (lower left), of Ardmore SWAT, crouches in front of Jared Johnson, also with Ardmore SWAT, as both hold the hallway for Staff Sgt. James Lunsford (right), with the 137th SOSFS, and Senior Airman Michael Ragland (center), with the 137th SOSFS, as they approach an unsecured doorway. This was Ragland’s first time in SWAT training, and he is working in a career field close to his heart: His grandfather was a highway patrolman in North Carolina for 8 years and was inspired to join this career field when he came into the military because of his grandfather. Additionally, Johnson was a Marine Corps infantryman before leaving the military and becoming a K-9 officer with the same department his dad retired from as a captain after 22 years of service in Ardmore. Both Ragland and Johnson bonded over that shared experience of joining a career field inspired by their family members who served in law enforcement. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Brigette Waltermire)