Travis drill event puts focus on skill training

by Tech. Sgt. Rachel Martinez
349th Public Affairs

9/11/2013 - TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.  -- Reserve Airmen from the 349th Air Mobility Wing honed their primary job skills during a multi-day training event on flight line here, Sept. 7- 8.

More than 500 Airmen from 21 units participated in job-specific skills training focused on the wing's core missions of moving passengers and cargo, generating sorties, flying aircraft, defending the base and providing high-quality medical care.

The training event was developed based on input from wing personnel. Surveys and informal feedback indicated Reservists wanted more time to perform the Air Force jobs they signed up to do, without the distraction of readiness requirements and additional duties, said Col. Matthew Burger, 349th Air Mobility Wing commander.

"The purpose is to train folks to do their jobs. It's what we do and why we show up," Burger said. "There are 500 folks who received training this weekend that wasn't computer based. Some of it was tough, but they were just happy to be doing what they signed up to do."

The varied training included aircrews and maintainers working together to launch and fly sorties with the C-5 Galaxy, C-17 Globemaster III and KC-10 Extender; aircrews working with aerial porters to conduct engine running offloads of cargo; aerial porters working with the Army to complete joint inspections of specialty equipment; civil engineers working with security forces to conduct convoy operations; civil engineers working with force support to establish and run a bivouac; and medics working in the simulation lab to practice life-saving skills.

"When it comes to flying, we're doing our normal flying proficiencies. We're flying six jets over the weekend and getting our standard currencies," said Maj. Alexander Salogub, 349th Operations Group chief of tactics. "The big thing we are doing is building relationships with the 349th maintainers and cops.

"The success of flying aircraft was not ours; we couldn't do it without maintenance. Additionally, it's rare we get a C-5, KC-10 and C-17 out on the ramp at the same time. Getting the chance to get them all out on the line and work on communications training was a great opportunity," he added.

For the 45th Aerial Port Squadron Airmen, known as "2T2s" in the career field, the weekend's training provided positive challenges in mission tempo.

"We depend on our host unit (60th) for operations, and there are not always a lot of missions happening, especially on the weekends when we're here," said Senior Master Sgt. Teresa Serrano, 45th APS air transportation manager.

To make up for the lack of real-world missions on drill weekends, the 45th APS often conducts in-house training. This weekend gave all sections in the aerial port a chance to provide skills training in a realistic environment. Airmen in the special handling section conducted joint inspections with an Army National Guard unit. The aerial porters in the cargo section were busy weighing, marking and fixing equipment pallets. The passenger team set-up a mock terminal for the Army personnel, conducted security inspections and manifested passengers. Load planners verified loads and prepared sequences for weight and balance on the aircraft. Ramp teams loaded equipment onto KC-10 and C-5 aircraft ground trainers and conducted engine running offloads. And the Airmen in the air terminal operations center kept the entire aerial port in sync with the multiple mission aspects happening.

"2T2s like to work and get their hands dirty, so this is perfect for them," said Serrano. "From reading their faces, they're happy, active, working and have a sense of purpose. They are doing what they came here to do. We have a very high ops tempo so far this weekend - everyone is meeting the challenge and the attitudes are great."

The Army unit also benefited from the training with the aerial porters. The 149th Chemical Company out of Turlock, Calif., brought one piece of every type of equipment they have to be air load certified by the porters. Receiving the training and certifications now enables the team to more efficiently respond to emergencies when called upon.

"This is our first time working with the 45th APS," said Army Staff Sgt. Shane Garber, 149 Chem. Co. operations NCO. "It's going excellent. I would think that the Guard and Reserve - Army and Air Force - working together is what the military is all about. We're building relationships and that's always great."

The weekend's convoy training also brought many units together for one common purpose - delivering cargo from an aircraft to its final destination. Security forces ran the training for all participants, which included civil engineers, aerial porters, Soldiers and fellow defenders.

"Our objective this weekend is to get people more confident and comfortable with combat skills," said Staff Sgt. Colby Wilson, 349th Security Forces Squadron trainer. "We have a lot of young Airmen who haven't had a chance to really do this in a practical environment out of the classroom. For some, this is the first time participating in an operational exercise of this level. We're not grading them; we already did that during the operational readiness inspection. This is meant to get them familiar with the skills and have fun while doing it."

The training included basic convoy skills, but focused on communication, teamwork and leadership.

"As a unit, we are good at the individual skills that go into operations; this is a chance to put that all together," said Wilson. "With the large quantity of training requirements, we don't always get the time to do the hands-on training we like to do. When we do get that chance to get outside, put the gear on and load up the vehicles, we try to take advantage of it."

Senior Airman Eric Tong, 349th SFS fire team member, participated in the convoy training. As someone who has been in the Air Force Reserve for five years, he said the training was concise and helpful.

"I like doing the hands-on training. It's better for everyone because you can't really learn it sitting in front of a computer screen," Tong said. "This environment is much more relaxed, less stressful and better for learning."

Hands-on training in the medical simulation lab also provided a valuable opportunity to sharpen skills. The skills lab for medics included training stations on sutures, nasal gastric tube insertion, muscular skeletal traction, venous puncture, medication administration, and casting, among other things.

"The whole training was very interesting" said Staff Sgt. Deborah Spangler, 349th Aeromedical Staging Squadron aerospace medical technician. "We went around to various sections to learn the skills. We talked with the trainers and then got to practice the skills.

"Many of us don't do this kind of work in our civilian jobs on the outside, so this is a good opportunity to apply our skills - we get the training and keep up on our qualifications," she added.

While many units conduct in-house skills training on their own, a wing-wide training exercise adds a number of benefits.

"The wing is trying to improve planning, fuse capabilities and generate greater training opportunities," said Lt. Col. Roderick Grunwald, 349th Logistics Readiness Squadron commander. "We're looking for units to identify training desires, and then, as a wing, we can come together. The more units participating, the greater opportunity there is to further training objectives."

"Units have indicated, 'If I had know the other units were doing that, then we could have done X, Y and Z,'" added Grunwald. "We're now more aware and able to provide better training in the future for our Reservists."

Additionally, a combined training scenario offers the chance to build on communication, Grunwald said. "When we do these big exercises, the biggest challenge is coordination and communication," said Grunwald. "This forces us to do a better job, we are getting command and control training along with it everything else."

While the hands-on, practical training was good experience, most participants agreed the biggest benefit was relationship building.

"I kept surveying everywhere we went throughout the weekend and, universally, folks said it was a good investment for the unit," said Burger. "But the aspect that doesn't create a bean to count is the relationships we built all weekend."

The wing plans to continue building those relationships with continued training events.

"We're looking to establish a pace to do this three-to-four times a year," said Grunwald. "The idea is that each time, we pull the blueprint from last time - so we're spending less time and effort - but the training objectives can be built upon. There are many training objectives - we're only limited by the unit's imagination."