CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
Wow, how two years fly by when you're having fun! I can definitely attest to that from having the opportunity to command the 373rd Training Squadron Detachment 5. This has been one of my greatest experiences so far.
What has made it my greatest experience? The dedication, commitment and professionalism of my 40 detachment members exude on- and off-duty. They have truly made my job easy and I can't say "thanks" enough for the commitment and drive they have to better themselves, and the technical expertise they impart to every C-17 maintainer, to include our international partners.
Since this will be my last article as the 373 TRS Det. 5 commander as I migrate to 437th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Gold Aircraft Maintenance Unit in the summer, I wanted to answer questions I have often heard in the past, like "Who is Det. 5," "What do they do," and lastly, finish with some of our accomplishments.
Our detachment's mission is to "provide world class maintenance training to the C-17 community integrating the highest caliber instructors and most modern technology to develop the ultimate warfighter."
Our detachment is actually considered a partner unit on Charleston, due to the fact that we fall under Air Education and Training Command and our chain of command is located at Sheppard AFB, Texas. We are located behind the wing headquarters building and in the same parking lot and adjacent to the flight simulator building. We have four buildings comprised of 43,000 square feet and 27 classrooms.
Our No. 1 priority is to ensure we meet the needs and training requirements of the host 437th Maintenance Group commander. In 2007, our instructor cadre logged more than 26,000 instructional hours and produced 1,100 C-17 warfighter graduates.
We actually have three groups of different instructors who are responsible for various parts of the C-17 maintenance training equation. The majority of our instructor cadre is here to provide maintenance training support to the 437 MXG commander and is qualified to teach 33 different C-17 maintenance courses.
We have five AETC Program Element Coded crew chief instructors who are solely responsible to teach C-17 crew chiefs hands-on certification tasks during a 6-week period. This happens after the Airmen leave Sheppard's aircraft fundamental course and are awarded their 3-level maintenance badge after all training requirements are met. To assist with this endeavor, we have two military training leaders who are present at the dormitory and detachment to provide assistance, mentoring, and physical training to all our Air Force Specialty Code awarding students.
In 2007, we graduated 71 AFSC awarding students, which is forecasted to double in 2009. Our last group of instructors has previous instructing experience and is commonly referred to as our Trainer Development Team. They are the premier one and only Air Force C-17 TDT comprised of seven members. Our trainers here at Charleston are valued at $140 million. Their responsibilities often have them traveling across six C-17 stateside locations to provide training device support for 26 maintenance training devices, not including 11 of our own as we were the first field training detachment to receive them. The TDT is responsible for defining C-17 training requirements, operationally checking newly acquired or upgraded training devices to ensure the devices operate correctly according to the technical orders. They closely collaborate with contractors and the system program office. Also, they are relied upon to fill in for instructors who have emergencies or are on leave. In my 16 years, I have never seen such phenomenal high fidelity maintenance trainers to utilize to ensure every student receives the best training possible and actually feel like they are working on a C-17 aircraft.
Being a partner unit on base and having a very miniscule budget to manage is often difficult to live off and run a detachment to be able to provide more than paper, pencils, markers and other administrative essentials. We really count on the wing and group's unfunded request and are standing first in line with our much-needed requirements.
I can honestly say our detachment has received a lot of support from the 437 MXG commanders and the wing commander in the past two years. We have outfitted our detachment with brand new tables, chairs, computer upgrades and installed AC units on our flightline vehicles.
I would also like to give a big shout out to contracting and the 437th Civil Engineer Squadron for the awesome support they have provided in the past two years. We have received newly painted classrooms and offices, upgraded heating and air conditioning systems and a much cleaner and safer classroom atmosphere after our air handling vents and ducts were cleaned. Not to mention, expeditiously refurbishing the entire men's and women's bathrooms -- it has made a world of difference and the students and staff greatly appreciate it.
Some of our accomplishments in the past two years include our detachment receiving an "Excellent" with 12 strengths during the 2006 AETC Inspector General Inspection. This detachment has compiled around 550 semester hours of college credits pursuing bachelor's and master's degrees. This quarter alone, our detachment has logged more than 260 volunteer hours, supporting the local community and base.
We have greatly catered to the international community by providing 12 months of classroom instruction to the Canadians and Australians combined to include creating a course to meet their training requirements.
We take our PT program very serious, which is indicative of our 86 percent PT test average.
As I close, I hope I have enlightened the base enough so they know who we are and what we do. The support they provide us is greatly appreciated and essential to the success of our mission. I want to also say thanks to the men and women of our detachment who have made my commanding experience one I will never forget.