AFSC weekend provides targeted training to Citizen Airmen

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Rachel Martinez
  • 349th Air Mobility Wing
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Citizen Airmen had yet another opportunity to hone their skills during the 349th Air Mobility Wing's latest Air Force Specialty Code training weekend, held here June 6-7, 2015.

Held periodically throughout the year, AFSC training weekends provide Citizen Airmen targeted opportunities for hands-on qualification and proficiency training.

"The overall intent is to provide value-added training to Airmen," said Maj. Sarah Forte, 349th Operations Group chief of operations plans. "We want to make sure people are getting hands-on experience in the areas critical to their career fields."

Each AFSC training weekend begins with a small team of planners. The planners looked at operations plans, inspection areas, unit training requirements and mission critical effects to develop an outline for the weekend's training events. Each weekend brings different scenarios and training opportunities. This latest weekend included, bare base operations, earthquake response, National Guard troop and cargo movement, and critical care air transport.

"We don't want to choose one overarching theme for the weekend because it's too constraining; units might not get what they need," said Burger. "We like this combination of task training and scenarios to create a robust overall training opportunity.

"With it all, we strive to expose our Airmen to as realistic scenarios as possible," Burger said. "That goal, along with available resources, is what really drives the training."

Training planners work with multiple units within the wing, as well as other military services and governmental organizations to expand the list of available resources and training opportunities. Previous AFSC training weekends have included joint operations with the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy Reserve and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as active-duty counterparts in the 60th Air Mobility Wing and 621st Contingency Response Wing . The California National Guard was a key participant in the June training. 

"We traveled to Sacramento and met with Army National Guard and Air National Guard representatives," said Forte, the planning lead for the June AFSC training weekend. "We sat down with them and said 'here's what we're looking for and here's what we can offer.' In this case, we wanted to move some cargo and passengers. We also wanted to get a C-130 and helo for our medical folks to train on because they will see that while deployed but they don't normally have the opportunity to train with them here."

The National Guard delivered and the 349th AMW aeromedical evacuation and critical care air transport teams received valuable hands-on training in the airframes. Additionally, maintenance, operations and aerial port Citizen Airmen received hands-on training while executing passenger and cargo movement flying missions for Army National Guard units participating in a large-scale annual training event at Fort Hunter Liggett, California.

"Now we are not self-generating cargo," Burger said. "We work with agencies like these to generate real cargo, and we get to practice loading it and flying it. This weekend, we are flying Army guys who we would fly in and out of Afghanistan. We are exposing Airmen to the real world mission."

While Travis Airmen benefit from the training, the other organizations benefit as well. The airlift provided by the 349th AMW allowed an Army National Guard Infantry Brigade and Combat Team to execute an airborne assault task - a critical requirement many units struggle to fulfill due to a lack of assets.

"The airlift portion of this event is a great exercise of the system for the Army players involved," said Chief Master Sgt. Shawn Alward, an operations NCO in charge with the California National Guard. "When in state, Army forces almost always move by ground convoy so transportation of these vehicles (and passengers) by air, not only saves valuable training time but also provides familiarization and appreciation of the aviation operations side of the spectrum."
  
June's multi-agency AFSC training weekend included more than 5,000 individual training events, with more than 600 Citizen Airmen participating.

"There are other units who do these cycles of training, but we are doing it at a rate and scope beyond others.  We've learned now, the power of such a synergistic effect," said Burger. "Every AFSC will have opportunities we never envisioned. And we get to validate much of this training under the new Air Force Inspection System so we don't waste dollars and time."

Plans are underway for the wing's next AFSC training weekend and Airmen are being encouraged to speak up about the type of training opportunities they want in the future.