CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
Charleston AFB is leading the way in improving the way Airmen are trained to be ready to deploy using Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century thinking in improving the expeditionary combat skills training course here.
In January, the training was expanded to include how to fight in a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear explosive environment and how to use self-aid and buddy care in a deployed location. Also, before the addition of these two areas, Airmen began to be qualified on a weapon 90 days before being deployed and using "Simunitions" marking systems in the field training portion of the three-day course.
"We want this course to be a one-stop shop for Airmen so they get everything they need to deploy," said Master Sgt. Stephen Fraley, 437th Security Forces Squadron program manager and NCO in charge of ECST.
The course teaches basic combat skills to Airmen who are deploying in a non-flying unit type code, according to Sergeant Fraley.
During the first two days of the course, Airmen are shown how to fight in a deployed location. Their training includes weapons training, how to fight in a CBRNE environment and how to low and high crawl. On the third day, Airmen attend a field training exercise which includes a fire fight. The fighting is done with Simunitions which are 5.66 mm cartridges filled with paint and resemble a bullet, used in both the M-16 and M-4 rifles. While the weapons are real, each one is retrofitted with a conversion kit so there is no possibility of live rounds being used in the weapons, said Sergeant Fraley.
Not only were areas added to the course, but the way the course was conducted was changed to help save man-hours.
"Something in the old course didn't make sense in regards to accountability and logistical issues," said Sergeant Fraley. "Airmen had to travel back and forth from the logistic readiness squadron to have their weapons issued and turned back in."
So using AFSO 21 thinking, Sergeant Fraley looked at ways man-hours could be saved and keep the course at three days.
"We were able to have LRS [437th Logistics Readiness Squadron] give us 60 training weapons to keep in the armory here for the Airmen to have them issued and returned without having to travel to the LRS building just to pick up weapons," he said.
Just with this one change to how instructors issue weapons to Airmen, it will save the Combat Arms and Training Maintenance more than $2 million dollars throughout the next six years, according to Sergeant Fraley.
The overall goal for the ECST is to have Air Mobility Command look at this course and have it implemented at other AMC bases.
"The original course started here," said Sergeant Fraley. "AMC took that course and revamped it, then issued it at all other AMC bases. Now, our goal is have AMC format [the improved] class throughout all AMC bases."
Though the changes to the course are relatively new, one Airmen sees the benefits of the additions to ECST.
"The class helped me prepare for deployment in many different ways," said Airman 1st Class Justin Sabree, 437th Logistics Readiness Squadron flightline service center apprentice. "Being able to see the combat environment, especially if you haven't been in one, is always a plus."
Though Airman Sabree was not sure what to expect from the class when he first attended, he said "now I have a good idea of what type of environment to expect."
Though there have been changes and additions to the course, instructors are looking at adding additional training to the course to help make scenarios more realistic. Sergeant Fraley hopes there will soon be a permanent opposition force that will learn some Middle-Eastern phrases, for Airmen to "fight against" during the field training. According to Sergeant Fraley, this will help Airmen learn how to give directions using hand signals to those people who do not speak English.
"Our vision is to realistically prepare each of our deploying Airmen with the knowledge and skills they need to perform their mission within a combat zone," he said. "We hope that each Airman never has to utilize the basic combat skills we teach. However, in the event they do, we want them to have the confidence to provide defense for themselves, their fellow Airmen and their deployed location."
The commander of the 437 SFS, Lt. Col. Seth McKee, said while his squadron runs the ECST, it took many units across the base to make the course what it is today.
"Through the outstanding teamwork of the civil engineer, logistic readiness and security forces squadrons, the medical group and the AFSO 21 office, we were able to combine our efforts to develop a stand-alone, more effective course that truly produces a combat-ready Charleston deployer who is prepared to take the fight to the enemy and then return home
safely to their friends and families."