Scenic Flight

Soldiers aboard Army CH-47 Chinook helicopters fly over Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, June 6, 2020, during an air assault exercise.

Farragut Flag

Sailors shift colors aboard the USS Farragut at Naval Station Mayport, Fla., June 14, 2020, after completing a deployment.

Helicopter Help

Sailors remove chocks and chains from the landing gear of an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter on the flight deck of the USS Detroit while transiting the Florida Straits, June 12, 2020.

Airmen Conduct Virtual In-Residence Professional Military Education

June 15, 2020 | BY Air Force Master Sgt. Mike Smith

Professional Military Education instructors and staff at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base in Tennessee have made it possible for airmen who need to complete their Noncommissioned Officer Academy and Airman Leadership School requirements virtually.

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Megan Francolini and Air Force Tech. Sgt. Renee Wiederspahn recorded sessions for the virtual in-residence remote NCO Academy in the I.G. Brown Training and Education Center TV studio.

The center's Lankford Enlisted Professional Military Education Center — the Air Force's largest enlisted PME center — kicks off the virtual-remote NCO Academy and Airman Leadership School courses today for more than 250 virtual students.

Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Steven Durrance, the Enlisted PME Center commandant, said in March that his team was focused on preparations to instruct a new curriculum as well as alternative learning methods.

Instructors learned television-studio camera skills such as reading from a teleprompter from broadcasting professionals to record their curriculum. The center operates the Air National Guard's broadcast center and Warrior Network television studios.

"This was an extremely quick turn for Lankford; especially considering the circumstances," said Air Force Master Sgt. Michael Beiting, the superintendent of the NCO Academy. "It really has been a massive effort with a lot of challenges."

The Air National Guard's Lankford Center is a total force institution and graduates thousands of students annually. The 38 faculty members include 19 active duty enlisted airmen, 18 from the Air National Guard and one from Air Force Reserve Command, as well as three support staff. They have focused on course revisions and transformations from home since the COVID-19 pandemic suspended classes on campus.

(Air Force Master Sgt. Mike Smith is assigned to the Air National Guard Training and Education Center.)