Warfare center offers online courses

  • Published
  • By Capt. Tom Freeland
  • Air Mobility Warfare Center Operations School
FORT DIX, N.J. (AFPN) --  Ever wonder how wartime planners decide the best ways to organize and deploy air mobility forces and assets?

Who goes in to start a bare-base operation, security forces or the tanker airlift control element and what are the variables in determining how many pallets you can load on a fully tanked KC-10 Extender?

Get the answers from the Air Mobility Warfare Center’s Mobility Operations School’s interactive distance-learning Introduction to Air Mobility Operations Course here. The Web site is www.amwc.af.mil/student_info.asp.

Comments from course critiques have been full of praise for both course content and software design, school officials said.

"This was the best designed online course I have taken," said Capt. Cliff Cunningham of the 452nd Airlift Control Flight at March Air Reserve Base, Calif. "Good job on providing ample cross-references within the course to improve the explanation of information."

Captain Michael Holdcroft, a C-5 Galaxy pilot with the 436th Operations Support Squadron at Dover Air Force base, said “It was a great course. I really liked the 'outside the box' ways of quizzing and teaching the objectives."

Course planners estimate it takes roughly eight hours to complete the course. Open to active, Reserve and civilian Department of Defense members of all ranks, it is designed for new to mature mid-level Air Mobility Command and U.S. Transportation Command leaders. Interested users can browse the course for valuable information or officially complete it by going through all the modules and passing the end-of-course assessment.

Military members and authorized contractors deployed or stationed overseas can use the online course for refresher or initial training.

Knowledge checks along the way help reinforce the recently taught information before the final assessment, which requires a 70 percent score to graduate and receive the course certificate.

"It provides a superior introduction to many of the mobility concepts our people face every day," said Col. David Lawton, the school's commandant. "For example, personnel from any DOD service can gain valuable information on AMC processes, such as how we load aircraft or procedures regarding shipment of hazardous material."

A key planner in creating the online course, Maj. Steve Polomsky wanted the online course to be relevant for a variety of career fields.

"Be it the global mission to the theater mission, doctrine to finance, planning to execution, we covered the fundamentals on all of them," said the mobility operations division deputy. "It's a great opportunity for people to learn new facets of air mobility outside of their particular stovepipe."

Before, students attended a two-week course at the warfare center, which cost about $2,000 per student, charged to the student’s unit. The class was limited to 60 students per session and was offered five times per year.

With the online course, the warfare center makes the training available to students worldwide. Since its inception in August 2004, 1,125 people have accessed the online course and more than 450 people have graduated.

The course also serves as a prerequisite for people who want to take the in-residence advanced course. In this course, students will study the complexities, requirements, limitations and resources available in planning and conducting air mobility operations.

"We also bring in cutting-edge guest speakers to talk on the latest concerns facing the command," Colonel Lawton said.

The course is offered five times per year and graduates approximately 200 students annually.

For more information, call the school at DSN 650-7722 or commercial (609) 754-7722 or (609) 754-7722; or e-mail AMWCdistancelearning@mcguire.af.mil.