Ability to survive and operate training gets makeover

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Peter Reft
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
11/01/2014 - EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Instead of spending long hours taking bus rides and waiting inside tents for every new training scenario, Airmen experienced an entirely new form of ability to survive and operate training at the Baker Field House during October's operational readiness exercise.

By creating a training program that uses the fitness center's indoor football field, ATSO organizers created a more efficient training program not limited by location and weather conditions.

"We were approached by the wing inspector general to come up with a more user friendly, lower impact ATSO event that didn't depend solely on using the Birch Lake exercise area," said Staff Sgt. Ian Campbell, the 354th Civil Engineer Squadron Emergency Management Flight NCO in charge. "By using the Baker Field House, we can hold year-round ATSO events for Eielson, even at minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit."

The length of the indoor football field makes it possible to split training into multiple lanes of traffic, allowing teams of four Airmen and an instructor to walk through each training scenario. The independent lane structure enables instructors to tailor specific training needs for different organizations.

"Each lane is modular in a way that we can drop any task or scenario in any situation," said Campbell. "This includes enhancing the training experience to other organizations that have a stake in overall ATSO training, such as the medical group and security forces."

Changes in the ATSO program reduce the training time required of a participant, which allows more Airmen to be trained in less time.

"The old ATSO was approximately four or more hours between assembly, busing out to the site and waiting," said Campbell. "The new program takes about 30 to 40 minutes once in an ATSO lane."

Campbell said they can train 178 people from 12 different squadrons, which amounts to approximately 44 teams of participants, in a single 2.5-hour training block.

Training small teams of four allows instructors to better interact with participants, rather than managing a group of 15 or more Airmen during previous ATSO training methods.

Campbell said the instructors like being able to ensure face-to-face interaction with each participant and to make sure each one understands concepts. This helps attendees build muscle memory to complete tasks. 

"We get to interact one-on-one, fix behaviors and help our fellow Airmen arm themselves with the knowledge to survive," said Campbell. Each member can ask questions and get straight subject matter expert answers."

Airman 1st Class Stefanie Nakonezcny, a 354th CES ATSO instructor, said she is happy with results from the new ATSO training program.

"We are all very pleased with how it had turned out and are excited to continue to improve and maintain base readiness," said Nakonezcny. "The new ATSO [training plan] allowed the wing to utilize time more efficiently while still educating and evaluating personnel on our capabilities."

Campbell said he can see the new training program becoming a major command and Air Force model someday and wants to see the program develop further.

"I hope wing leadership likes what the Emergency Management Flight put together and gives this process a chance to develop and grow into an even more robust and challenging training event," said Campbell. "It is low cost and low impact, yet it has a high return on value of training and time."