Aircrew Training Ensures U.S. Air Superiority
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Sep2...004090708.html.
{EXCERPT} By Donna Miles American Forces Press Service
RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas, Sept. 7, 2004 — Superb people and
state-of-the- art technology help make the U.S. Air Force the most
formidable air power in the world. But the general who oversees flying
training for more than 19,000 airmen a year says the biggest single
factor that makes America's military stand out from other countries'
is its emphasis on training.
"The one common denominator that I would say makes America's forces —
whether they're airmen, soldiers, sailors or Marines — better is our
training," said Air Force Maj. Gen. Edward R. "Buster" Ellis,
commander of 19th Air Force, headquartered here.
Ellis is responsible for the day-to-day training of some 2,000 U.S.
and allied students as pilots, navigators and air-battle managers from
the day they begin introductory flight training until they arrive
mission ready at their operational units.
"We in the United States have chosen to invest the money to make sure
that our people are trained and equipped as best as we possibly can,"
Ellis said. "And what it produces is a capability that is matched by
none other in the world."
Ellis said the Air Force is leveraging technology to make sure its
training is as realistic and efficient as possible and to ensure crews
know what to expect during combat missions.
Upgraded, updated training aircraft and new, high-fidelity simulators
that enable aircrews to "fly" missions before ever leaving the ground,
he said, "help make sure that young man or woman has everything going
for them when they go out there to fly that mission."
Simulation is bringing a level of realism to training not possible
when instructors briefed students about upcoming missions "with
nothing but a word picture," Ellis said. "Now I can sit there with a
computer, and by touching a screen, I can give you all those words,
but I can also show you pictures that show landmarks (and) the ground
track to fly" and other issues of interest to the crew.
Threat recognition is an integral part of the training, Ellis said.
"We want to make sure that the first time a person flying a C-17
(Globemaster III aircraft) into Baghdad or Tallil (Air Base, Iraq)
sees someone shooting at them is not when they're doing it for real,"
he said. "We want to be certain that it won't just be something
they've read about and been briefed about, but that they have had the
opportunity to 'see' it."
Ellis said other measures — avionics, fighter data link technology and
digital heads-up displays, among them — are increasing aircrews'
situational awareness during missions. This, he said, enables them to
focus on their mission "and come back healthy, safe and alive."
While taking advantage of technology to train its aircrews, Ellis said
19th Air Force also is looking at other ways to make training more
efficient. Beginning in October, the combat systems officer course
will teach non-pilot aviators to become a more integral part of the
crew, he said. "They'll be more actively involved in flying the
airplane than in being limited to working the radar, doing navigation
and calculations and functions like that.
"We think it will hone their aviation skills and be a real 'value
added'" for the Air Force, Ellis said.
Similarly, Ellis said he wants to give copilots more hands-on training
early in their career, reducing the need for extensive schoolhouse
training when they switch from the right seat to become full-fledged
pilots.
Ellis said he expects the change — a stark contrast to what he
admitted was sometimes a 'sit down, shut up and don't touch anything'
mentality toward copilots — to be "very encouraging and rewarding" for
young pilots. "They want to be challenged," he said. "They want to do
the mission and they want to be feel like it's worthwhile."
The war on terror is delivering important lessons about flying
training, Ellis said, particularly about importance of the men and
women who operate the equipment.
"It's a reaffirmation that no matter how sophisticated the equipment
and technology gets, we are still going to need great people to do the
job we do, fly the airplanes we fly, and then come back to our
schoolhouses and instruct those people who are going out there as new
pilots, weapons systems officers, navigators, air-battle managers," he
said.
But Ellis said the war is also reinforcing the need for 19th Air Force
to produce near-combat-ready aircrews that require minimal follow-up
training at their gaining units.
With "a very, very real-world mission going on out there" as the
United States and the coalition wage the war on terrorism, Ellis said
he "can't imagine a more exciting time to be involved in training."
And the bottom line in training the force, the principle Ellis said
guides his leadership, "is to make sure that we don't come in second
place."
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK, the
official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Sep2...004090708.html.
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Otis Willie
Associate Librarian
The American War Library
http://www.americanwarlibrary.com
(310) 532-0634