ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) —  

The Air Force announced plans to transition foundational training for all Airmen beginning Oct. 1 ensuring they have the necessary skillsets to survive and operate during contingencies both at home station and deployed, including remote and contested environments. 
 
Ready Airman Training will prepare Airmen to develop and demonstrate the mindset required to support the Air Force Force Generation, or AFFORGEN, deployment model. 
 
“The vision for how Airmen train and deploy embraces an emerging culture of support maintaining and building readiness across the AFFORGEN phases,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. “We must challenge the status quo to prepare our Airmen for operating in environments far more complex than we have in the past.” 
 
Aligned with the Oct. 1 implementation of AFFORGEN, Airmen will begin receiving tailored training spread throughout the 18-month Reset, Prepare and Ready phases of the AFFORGEN cycle. Unit commanders may adjust the number of training events required based on an Airman’s level of preparedness and the deployment phase they are entering. 
 
Previous deployment training, which at a minimum consisted of Basic Airman Readiness and Basic Deployment Readiness, was accomplished as just-in-time training, once notified of a deployment, and consisted of approximately 30 hours of training. 
 
In March, a team of 70 experts gathered in San Antonio for a Ready Airman Training Design Sprint where they identified 12 focus areas, designated as Ready Training Areas, with specific desired learning objectives necessary for Airmen to deploy faster while simultaneously increasing overall expertise. 
 
Ready Training Areas include: Law of War; Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape; Small Arms; Integrated Defense; Active Threat Response; Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Training; Explosive Ordnance Hazard; Tactical Combat Casualty Care All Service Members Course; Comprehensive Airman Fitness; Cross Cultural Communications; Information Environment Awareness; and Basic Communications. 
 
The Ready Training Area associated training events will be spread over the entire AFFORGEN cycle incrementally over the next two years. The total estimated training hours required over the course of the two-year cycle – four years for Guard and Reserve – depend on whether the Airman is considered inexperienced (40 hours), experienced (24 hours) or staff (15 hours). 
 
“Ready Airman Training serves as the continuum of combat learning for all Airmen while being adaptable to each individual Airman’s experience level and allowing commanders the flexibility to tailor training for specific operating environments,” said Maj. Gen. Albert Miller, Air Force Training and Readiness director. 
 
Cross-functional training requirements and training packages for commanders were developed using validation methods that will present an Airman prepared to execute missions based on emerging operational timelines. Additionally, Ready Airman Training increases flexibility for commanders at all levels to tailor training requirements to their Airmen. 
 
“This is the model and method needed to compete and deter where the adversary’s tactics and techniques have evolved in an effort to match ours,” said Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass. “Ready Airman Training is how we, as an Air Force, continue to outpace our strategic competitors and win the high-end fight.” 
 
Specific training objectives for Ready Training Areas are available on the AEF Online and AFFORGEN Connect websites. Major commands are responsible for tracking and reporting readiness annually through myLearning.

Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. (AFNS) —  

Gen. Mike Minihan, commander of Air Mobility Command, presented his case for the state of air mobility to a packed audience of Airmen at the 2022 Air, Space and Cyber Conference, Sept. 21.

His problem statement was direct, if provocative: the joint force is not as ready as it thinks it is, and the time to act is now.

“Nobody is going to care what our plans are for five to 10 years if we lose tomorrow,” Minihan said. “Our toys, our training, our desires are meaningless unless we maneuver them to unfair advantage and unrepentant lethality.”

During the 40-minute talk, Minihan laid out the role of the mobility air forces in projecting, connecting, maneuvering and sustaining the joint force. He cited both historical and recent examples, including AMC’s role in Operation Allies Refuge, that showed the need to rapidly employ lessons learned and strategically invest in mobility.

In doing so, he highlighted four critical gaps AMC has focused on closing to be ready for a pacing challenge: command and control, navigation, maneuvering under fire, and tempo.

He left no ambiguity about the urgency of the challenge faced.

“If we don’t have our act together, nobody wins,” he said. “They are tailor-making an air force to kill you. Not ‘you’ hypothetically … you. Look in the mirror.”

Similarly, he left no doubt about America’s resolve to face challenges now, even with work still to do.

“We have to make the best of what we have,” Minihan said. “If [my intelligence team] were to walk in my office tomorrow and say ‘[an adversary is] getting ready to go,’ what am I going to do now? I’m going to take roll of who we’ve got, we’re going to take roll of the toys we have, and we’re going.”

He also presented the challenges of geography through the lens of his joint experience in the Pacific, which AMC is preparing for on the road to Exercise Mobility Guardian 2023, set to take place next year within the Indo-Pacific region.

“There’s just too much water and too much distance for anyone else to deliver mobility at pace, at speed, and at scale like we do,” Minihan said. “I’m not interested in being the best Air Force on the planet. I’m interested in being the most lethal force the world has ever known. Mobility Guardian will be the crown jewel where we rehearse the winning scheme of maneuver.”

To get after the problem he presented, Minihan cited the need for a Mobility Manifesto, which he described as a public declaration of intentions, opinions and objectives of mobility as an organization. He argued the document is needed to best position mobility Airmen and their tools to present a scheme of maneuver for the joint force to win.

“Lethality matters most, and I’m coming at you like an Airman,” Minihan said. “This is about us and about our culture – it’s about Airmen. We’ve been here before. You will get zero sympathy from me about having to do big things quickly and about the significant challenges that exist.”

The presentation was a preview of the manifesto document that will be made available to mobility Airmen publicly at the end of October.

Over the last year, AMC has taken a deliberate approach to rapidly prepare for a high-end fight with a pacing challenger. Operations, activities and investments have all been focused on extracting maximum value out of existing capabilities and exploring how the mobility air forces can address gaps across communication, survivability and agility.

“In order to generate the tempo required to win, I’d rather check things out now,” he said. “Victory language comes into sharper contrast – the stakes are incredibly high.”

Minihan had words of advice for the audience: “Generate your courage, point the pointy end at the scary place, and execute.”

He concluded the discussion by putting the challenge ahead in contrast with Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr.’s readiness charge.

“When he says accelerate change or lose, we say we win or die.”

By Air Mobility Command Public Affairs

Photo by TSgt Zachary Boyer

ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) —  

The Air Force added another guide, titled The Joint Team, or the “Purple Book,” to its arsenal of foundational documents dedicated to developing Total Force Airmen.

The “Purple Book” educates Airmen on how airpower fits into the Joint Force construct and identifies the joint doctrine, values, capabilities, and warfighting concepts that capture how the Air Force effectively partners with other services to protect America’s interests across the globe.

“Today, we find ourselves in an era of strategic competition against adversaries who seek to outpace and eventually overtake us,” said Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass. “Every Airman must know what is at stake and understand the critical importance of synchronizing our capabilities with our joint partners to amplify our collective strength and power.”

The new book provides a baseline for understanding the value each service contributes to the Joint Force and outlines the essential framework to work with other branches to compete, deter, and win the high-end fight.

The new “Purple Book” explains all service members are part of a Profession of Arms. This holds them to a strong set of Joint Core Values and supports a foundational strategy to defeat any threat, anytime and anywhere.

Additionally, it clarifies the fundamental questions all Airmen must answer: “How do I fit into the Joint Force;” and “How can I ensure I hone and deliver my unique capabilities to assure its success?” This guide helps Airmen internalize what it means to fight jointly, understand the missions of the joint force, appreciate the joint organizations that are leading the fight, comprehend how to integrate into a joint warfighting environment, and identify how the Air Force fits into the joint construct.

“Airmen of tomorrow will be required to collaborate and communicate with our joint teammates to win in future complex and contested environments,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. “We owe our Airmen a solid foundation on jointness much earlier in their careers.”

Developing and updating these guides was part of the 28 Enlisted Force Development Action Plan objectives focused on developing the future enlisted force. The new “Purple Book” can be found here. The revised “Brown Book” can be found here. The revised “Blue Book” can be found here.

Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs