Bomber FIP brings B-52 training overhaul

by Staff Sgt. Katherine Holt
2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs

2/20/2015 - BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. -  -- Aviators arriving here this week for their Initial Qualification Training on the B-52H Stratofortress, will begin using a newly-approved working syllabus thanks to a recent training overhaul.

The overhaul was a result of the Air Force Global Strike Command Bomber Force Improvement Program, which sent five teams to visit the bomber units this summer, where they identified challenges associated with performing bomber duties and worked with Airmen to propose solutions.

The Bomber FIP Operations team recognized the need to reprioritize B-52's mission sets and lead the combat air forces in mission sets critical to combating adversaries in 2020 and beyond.  The team recommended to Lt. Gen. Wilson a reevaluation of B-52 priorities and changes to B-52 training guidance, aligning the mission closer with the challenges of the future.  The overall goal of the training overhaul is to improve the quality of combat aviators graduating the FTU by improving instructor to student ratios, focusing on aircraft and weapons fundamentals, and accelerating the instructional timeline.

"A training tiger team was created from the findings of the Bomber FIP," said Maj. Michael Green, Air Force Global Strike Bomber Operations Division Realistic Training Manager. "We had a good mix of personnel including maintenance, bomber aircrew and aircrew from other combat platforms."
Areas of evaluation included training, capabilities, battle rhythm and morale.

"The tiger team knew the B-52 community needed to adapt training to the new security environment," said Capt. Derek Williams, Chief of Bomber Operations and Programs, AFGSC Applied Capabilities office. "FIP gave us the opportunity to address training gaps and provide solutions to leadership."

A restructure of training priorities and training methods, once a crewmember becomes qualified, would not completely prepare B-52 aircrew for the new challenges of 21st century warfare. The most effective way to solve this problem needed to include changes to B-52 initial qualification training and ensuring trainers develop the most combat capable airmen for future conflicts.

These findings provided the tiger team with an opportunity to develop a 13-person High Performance Team to completely restructure the B-52 training program.

In just four months, the HPT, with direct support from the 93rd and 11th Bomb Squadron Formal Training Unit experienced cadre, authored three brand new initial training syllabi. A new team will build on these efforts by overhauling mission qualification training over the next few months.

"We had a good lead-in from the tiger team," said Lt. Col. Erik Johnson, 2nd Bomb Wing Chief of Safety. "It gave us our vector, set boundaries for us and framed the problem."

The new IQT will commit to a one-to-one student-to-instructor ratio, improving quality of instruction for each student and accelerating training objectives, ultimately enhancing the learning experience and increasing trainee competency.

"This will reduce the number of training sorties required, while also providing more effective B-52 combat aviators in the end," Johnson said.

Another change in the initial qualification training is the de-emphasis of mission qualification tasks, giving operational squadrons MQT responsibility.

"The tiger team wanted IQT to focus on building a strong foundation," Williams said. "Through interviews and personnel experience, we witnessed compartmentalization and gaps in core skills throughout the crew force that hindered the B-52's ability to increase combat effectiveness."

"This product will greatly differ from what IQT previously created," Johnson said. "We're expecting aviators to be more proficient in the fundamental operation of the aircraft, a greater capacity for students to learn on their own after graduation and more effectively use the time given at the field training unit."

Johnson said the training overhaul's success was due to a total force effort.

"This wasn't just the effort of a handful of us, the whole field training unit pitched in," he said. "It wouldn't happen without their buy in and support."

The training will continue to be assessed and modified as the need arises.

"We wanted to affect B-52 culture," Green said. "We wanted a lasting, holistic approach to training. We want aircrew progressing to a higher level faster by not just shortening the time it takes to qualify, but increase their quality and capabilities."