Air advisers' feedback to shape future deployment training

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Randy Redman
  • 321st Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BAGHDAD (AFNS) --  Representatives from the air adviser course at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., were in Iraq recently to query course graduates on the effectiveness of the course.

Their efforts are intended to help shape future education and training the Air Force provides to Airmen who will engage in advising efforts around the world.

A team of instructors interviewed 242 air advisers in Iraq and 164 in Afghanistan during the April 2011 air adviser assessment.

The primary goal was to see if the curriculum at the school is current, applicable and taught at the appropriate level, officials said.

"We're going to take all the information we get here and hand it over to (Air Education and Training Command officials), and take any nuggets we get and add them to the air adviser course to improve it," said Master Sgt. Richard Oliver, the 422nd Joint Tactics Squadron tactics, techniques, and procedures flight chief.

According to Ken Arteaga, the deputy chief of the AETC Special Missions Division, the air adviser course was established in 2007 by order of the chief of staff of the Air Force at the request of the Air Forces Central commander.

He said it was imperative the U.S. Air Force lead airpower development in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"To accomplish this in the most effective, efficient and safe manner, our Airmen needed proper pre-deployment training," Mr. Arteaga said. "The goal was to provide U.S. Airmen the appropriate training and skill sets to mentor and advise the new Iraqi air force and Afghan National Army Air Corps (now the Afghan National Air Force) at air bases located outside U.S. military protected zones.

"Other training venues were either ground-centric, with an emphasis on small-unit tactics, or simply lacked excess capacity and aviation focus," he added.

The current air adviser curriculum is divided among three core pillars: mission training, culture training and combat skills. The school teaches Airmen of almost all ranks and specialties together in the same program. Students are separated into two groups -- Afghanistan and Iraq -- and are taught culture, language and advising skills applicable to the country to which they will be deploying.

After two weeks of education, students learn various survival and protection skills such as combat lifesaving, high-threat driving and advanced weapons skills in preparation for their operating environment.

Maj. Eldrick Hill, the Iraq Training and Advisory Mission-Air Logistics lead engineer, said he felt all aspects of the course improved his effectiveness here in Iraq.

"The first time I went on a convoy ... I felt prepared," he said. "I felt like I had good situational awareness and that I was ready for anything."

He said the cultural aspect of the training was invaluable because it gave him insight into how highly Iraqis value the personal relationships built through "wasta," an Arabic word that loosely translates into "clout" or "who you know."

"Our instructor taught us both formal and slang Arabic for Iraq," Major Hill said. "They mostly used slang, which it made the experience more fun and realistic. In Iraq, most of the progress made is mainly due to your relationships with your counterparts."

This is the third field survey conducted by AETC officials since the course was launched. Advisers were interviewed in the field in 2008 and 2009.

"Also, all students are sent written questionnaires after they've been in-country a few months," Mr. Arteaga said. "The questionnaires are relatively new but they do give us a realistic look at what advisers are saying about their training once they're actually doing the job."  

He added that in March, Air Force Operations, Plans and Maintenance officials jointly sponsored an air adviser lessons learned conference for more than 40 air adviser graduate leaders to discuss the lessons and implications of their deployed experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Feedback from all these venues is taken very seriously," Mr. Arteaga said. "New or changed requirements are quickly validated and incorporated into the class. To date, no two classes have been exactly alike, reflecting the importance of keeping the curriculum fresh."

That feedback has also led to growth at the school, officials said, despite the transition of all military forces out of Iraq, which is scheduled for December. The school is in the process of becoming the air adviser academy, in an effort to institutionalize lessons learned in both Afghanistan and Iraq in support of U.S. National Security Strategy.

This year, the air adviser academy will add 19 more government faculty and staff to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as other central command and combatant command requirements.

The school has already opened its doors to the U.S. Navy and Defense Language Institute civilians, and will soon qualify personnel from the newly activated Mobility Support Advisory Squadron at JB McGuire.

To date, more than 2,400 students have gone through the school.