Global Engagement readies Academy cadets for future

  • Published
  • By Ken Carter
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) --  Thirty subject matter experts from all over the United States are leading approximately 1,200 U.S. Air Force Academy cadets through intensive training with the Global Engagement course this summer here.

The advantage to future Academy graduates in completing the course is that it gives cadets a clearer understanding of what is involved in running a successful bare-base deployment. 

The program provides "cadets a realistic training environment of a deployed bare base," said Master Sgt. Allen Chapman, the Global Engagement superintendent. "We bring in 30 subject matter experts from all directions to lead the cadets through current and complete scenarios." 

The course curriculum is divided into four areas of expertise: Services, security forces, civil engineering and emergency management. The 71-day summer schedule in progress includes six sessions with approximately 200 cadets, each learning from the subject matter experts. 

"The course curriculum hasn't changed but the training environment has," Sergeant Chapman said. "With the situation in Iraq, now with the search and clear operations going on, there's more emphasis on military operations in an urban environment." 

The implementation of the recent $80,000 Military Operations Urban Terrain unit has given the training wider application in creating life-like environments. A mock village at the Academy can be reconfigured in many ways to represent the scenarios as described by those who've recently served in Southwest Asia. 

"This is how we select the subject matter experts to conduct the training," Sergeant Chapman said. "It's to everyone's advantage to get the latest conditions we're up against and implement that knowledge into our training tactics."

Comment on this story (comments may be published on Air Force Link)

View the comments/letters page