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Show News and Features Fighter Country Page 3a Harriers head home Marines and airmen learn from each other By Al C Aimee Groben Editor, Fighter Country The Marines packed up and left without trace. a However, the impact of the exercise "Lone Duck" left lasting imprints on the 388th Fighter Wing. Exercise Lone Duck deployed about 230 Marines from Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station, N.C. The exercise was organized to help them to prepare for anupcorning deployment to the Mediterranean. The overall focus was on joint-servioperations getting Marines and airman the chance to work and fly together. "The training the pilots got here was far better than what they could get at home," said Marine Capt. Russ Rivers, Harrier attack pilot. "The plan was executed perfectly. The Harriers dropped the bombs right on target and a lot of this was because the were flying right there beside inter-servi- ce jute ce F-1- 6s them." and Harriers flying together, both sides said they learned a lot. "One. of the interesting things we discovered during the exercise was some of the With the F-1- 6s . Photo by Cpl. Richard Smith, USMC A Marine attack Harrier performs tions at Bogue Field. NCOIC, Public Affairs With less than a week under his belt as com- mander of the 388th Fighter Wing, Col. Daniel Dick was immersed in the wing's Phase 1 and II i exercises. The exercise, which began with Phase I operations on May 18, tested the 388th's combat readiness and continued preparations for the Operational Readiness Inspection scheduled in the m fall. "I'm impressed with the hard work I've seen already. This really is a winning team," said Dick. The new commander saw some "rough spots" during Phase I of the exercise, but said "overall there's nothing serious that can't be fixed with a little practice." That practice will come in the a "high form of two additional exercises intensity" exercise is set for July 6 through 15 according to wing officials and another one is scheduled for September. During readiness exercises, the wing simulates r packing up and rapidly deploying people, planes and equipment to a specified overseas location. "The logistics of a deployment are always complex and just plain tough," saidDick,but we saw some great work moving equipment Every pallet got where it was supposed to go when it was supposed to get there." During Phase II of combat exercises, wing members simulate fighting in a war zone. The 388th portion of Hill AFB becomes "base X" a base in a war zone from where the war game is played. Everything from the recall rosters that get the people in to work to the details that ensure the sorties fly are evaluated for the exercises. Following the exercise, a "hot wash" is held with the commanders and key players, debriefing what went right and identifying areas for improvement. "This hot wash should be used as a learning experience," said Maj. Les Long, chief of wing plans, the office responsible for conducting the exercises. This is where we get everything that happened during the exerd3t out on the table. It is ceTtdnry not topo&t fixers, but rau to find out wht went wrors, why tni most importantly, how to fix it for the next exercise " he said. off during flight opera- inter-servi- learn-Force- lines. By TSgt. Darla J. Ernst short take ," UyeTS "N "Everyone's ing curve was vertical." 1116 AV-8- B Harrier II is considered the world's premier verticalshort takeoff and landing aircraft (VSTOL). commonalty between Marines and the Air said Capt. Kevin Perry, project officer from the wing. "Many of the things that we needed were the same for the Ma- - 388th exercises combat readiness a The Harrier can takeoff and land vertically on short airstrips, roadways and small ships although no such landings were used during the Marine's stay at Hill. The most important lesson the Marines took home with them is "standardization really does work," said Rivers. He said up until now they really didn't have a standardized mode of operations for an exercise like Lone Duck and they were impressed with the way Air Force operations worked. The Marines were also impressed with the Utah Test and Training Range. Rivers said the targets were excellent and though they had to work around some restrictions it only added to their training. "The training we did added to the wing's combat readiness by exposing our pilots to mode of operations; capathe bilities and limitations of the Harrier in a joint scenario," Perry said. "Summed up in a nutshell, with some planning and communication we can easily integrate with other services," said Perry. ce Maintenance training continued from page are 145 MTF courses in the field and more on the way, she 1 up anywhere a unit chooses. The programs are delivered on shiny videodiscs that look like gigantic compact disks and on external hard drive disks. The multimedia technology mixing graphics, still stereo sound videos has been in use since with and photos 1986, according to Maj. Pamela Wood, MTF commander, and it's coming into its prime. "The goal is: rather than having maintainers going out to the airplane on the fhghtline and trying to figure out a problem that doesn't exist on an aircraft (for training), c, having them sit down at a computer and get training that to some degree will very interactive, free-pla- y react to the inputs of the trainee," said Wood. "As far as the thought processes and diagnostic actions of troubleshooting a problem, it's almost like being with the real plane doing real problem-solvin- g only it's two dimensional," she said. It may all seem like a game but maintainers get to solve real problems and learn more about how to fix their aircraft in one session lasting about four hours than they often learn in months on the job, she said. "We're trying to teach analytical skills in a way that's interesting and challenging," said CMSgt Tom Weast, the unit's superintendent "But when it comes down to it, the object is training," he said. . . The courses are working to standardize training across the command as well as relieve the training burden from individual squadrons and compensate for a shrinking experience pool, said Wood. In compiling the scenarios, MTF people drew on the experiences of many of the best technicians in the Air Force. Through the computerized training, said Wood, "instead of a maintainer learning from an individual trainer, he can learn from many of the best minds and shared experiences all at once." The courses developed by the flight teach procedures and troubleshooting skills that are not offered in technical school, field training detachments or in the maintenance training flights. "Our goal is to not duplicate any training that's already out there," Wood said. The courseware is intended primarily for five- - to seven- -' skill level maintainers. The computer software training reaches a lot of people. More than 50,000 maintainers who and B- -l s have the opportunity right work on now to use the products the 388th MTF distributes. and this is just a snapshot -"At Nellis alone currently there are 630 students taking 47 courses. And the feedback is that people love it," said Wood. All told, there highly-realisti- F-1- 5s, ,,...- F-1- 6s ?.. f.411 . said. "One of the advantages of this type of training is that it can be made available to the student as a proshe said. allows the "It gram," highest degree ofknowledge transfer." Wood cites an article in the May 31, 1993 issue of Newsweek to back that up : "People retain 1 0 percent of what they see, 20 percent of what they hear, half of what they see andhcai and 80 percent ofwhat they see, hear and do." She calls this the "interactive edge." Besides the interactive courseware, the flight also produces videos, handbooks and guides for the maintainers in the field to use in training. No less important (if not as glamorous) MTF also trains way here at Hill in the Maintenance people the Schcolhouse, which offers seven different courses geared toward the supervisory and logistical support side of maintenance. schcolhouse courses are accompanied The like taking care of people. values by some The people in the schcolhouse pride themselves on meeting or exceeding their customers needs. This means they call students to personally welcome them to the school-hous- e, they make billeting reservations for each student and help students with transportation while they are here. But the school's real strength is in their practical experience, with each instructor teaching the jobsthey've performed in the field. "This creates an environment of shared experience and openness where group dynamics and shared ideas become the teaching vehicle," said SMSgt Ray Grogan, head of the instructor staff for the school. Col. James Sandstrom, in one of his final acts as 388th Fighter Wing commander, lauded the MTF for meeting the training needs of ACC and other commands despite the past difficulties of being spread all over the base and having to cope with an expanding mission. He also paid tribute to the unit for their hard work in making their new home a reality. "My hat is off to each and every person in MTF for making 1295 more than a number." The temptation must be strong for MTF people to splice in a videotape of Col. Sandstrom tipping his hat to them on : to their course software; for these computer wizards it wouldn't be hard. But they have better things to do. After all, when it comes down to it, although it's flashy what the MTF does is training very sophisticated training. self-pac- old-fashion- ed ed old-fashion- ed ed |