By. Chris "UA" Lessard
This article is Part 3 in our series of “I’m the AOF/CC now what do I do?” It discusses one of the most critical responsibilities of an AOF/CC in the current mission qualification training (MQT) program. The responsibility to teach and train the next generation of 13Ms is critical to ensure we grow our replacements and develop the culture we want within the career field. This article will touch on some similar topics within our other running series, “The Great 13M debate” about the discussion of skills and knowledge 13Ms obtain and to what skill level. However, this article will focus on preparedness, techniques, and the understanding required to effectively teach and train 13Ms as they navigate MQT once initial skills training (IST) is completed. This article was developed after my own self-reflection of perceived successes and failures training 13Ms. The article also uses basic ideas from Ken Bain’s book What the Best College Teachers Do. The intent of the article is not to provide a checklist of things to do to effectively train 13Ms but to have the reader think deeply about how they approach the process of training 13Ms.
The way we currently train 13Ms to reach the 13M3 is not ideal. The current MQT program is not standardized throughout the Air Force and partly taught by inexperienced 13M3s that most likely just finished MQT themselves. Right now, there is probably a Flight that has an acting AOF/CC that may have either just finished MQT, or worse, still in MQT. The small size and high-deployment tempo of the career field are some of the reasons the program is executed in this manner. These are reasons why the career field is looking to drastically modify how it produces a well-equipped Lieutenant to meet the demands of either being within an AOF, Combat Airspace, Contingency Response Group (CRG), or any other 13M position. However, you should not wait on the career field to fix MQT since the solution is still being debated, and the fix actions are still some time down the road. Waiting for the top-down fix will still short change the Air Force and, arguably, more importantly, the 13Ms in training. So, what can you do to affect MQT for the better?
The recommendations provided in the next few paragraphs will not be in the form of “do X to achieve X.” The recommendations will be in the form of questions you should ask yourself if you are the person responsible for training anyone in the Air Force. This is to allow each 13M to make the best decisions for themselves and the needs of the 13Ms in training. Now, let’s discuss.
The first recommendation I offer is to know yourself. What do you know and understand about the career field, or operating as a 13M? Are you skilled in the technical requirements of being a 13M (see The Great 13M Debate Part 1: Depth vs. Breadth)? What strengths and weaknesses do you have as a 13M or an officer in the Air Force? In his book What the Best College Teachers Do, Ken Bain explains that the best teachers are all active and accomplished in their respective fields of study. The book goes on the make the statement, “that people are unlikely to become great teachers unless they have something to teach.”[1] I’m not going to argue that each 13M should be the best teacher or trainer for 13Ms in MQT. However, each 13M responsible for conducting the training should strive to be the best teacher or trainer they can be based on the external constraints put on them. Sometimes, this might mean asking for help from the MAJCOM, requesting SNCOs to help instruct, or ask around the career field. Most 13Ms I know would be more than willing to assist a young 13M attempting to train new 13Ms, especially with all the free and easily accessible video conference capabilities. The hard part for the 13M responsible for MQT is knowing when to ask for help, which is why knowing yourself is required to facilitate the program.
The second recommendation is to determine your overall priorities. Where does training 13Ms fit into your overall priorities? Take a look at your schedule. Do you have dedicated time to training 13Ms on the schedule? If not, then it may not be one of your high priorities. If you have it on your schedule, do you have that time “fenced off” to avoid interruptions to the training and allow for your undivided attention? Once you schedule the time on your calendar, does your AOF team and the commander also understand the priority to help you avoid interruptions? One of the highest priorities for an AOF/CC is training within the flight, especially training 13Ms. If you do not have dedicated training time scheduled, but you say that training is a high priority, then there is a disconnect between your words and actions.
The third recommendation is to understand how you treat the 13Ms in training. What expectations do you have for 13Ms while in training? Do you trust the 13Ms in training with completing their training objectives, sometimes on their own, and assume they want to learn? Or do you default to the, “they have no initiative” mantra. This recommendation builds on the first and second in that if you don’t know your own strengths and weaknesses or have time to prioritize training, you may also fail to set expectations of the 13Ms while they are in training. Without expectations, how do you expect them to complete the training objectives? To what standard? Who should they go to for additional information on the objective? Basically, do you treat the 13Ms in training with decency and default to trust, rather than making them earn your trust after they prove themselves in training? This brings us to the fourth recommendation.
How do you evaluate the 13Ms in MQT? Maybe a better question to ask is: How do you evaluate if a 13M understands the concepts behind the intended lesson? This is a difficult task, especially for the new 13Ms still learning the job themselves. As with most things in life, there are multiple right answers, but you have to find the few that work for both you and the trainee. One technique I used is the Socratic Method. I used this method to begin asking the trainee simple questions about the topic and then progressively ask more difficult questions. An example of this is in regards to Training Review Boards (TRB). The first question I would ask was, “How often should a TRB be held?” (NOTE: There are actually multiple right answers to this question based on numerous variables) Then I would eventually work up to a question like, “Why do we have TRBs?” How the trainee answered this question would allow me to test whether they understood the concept of the lesson. Additionally, it would provide me feedback on if I was truly getting to the heart of the lesson, rather just than the AFMAN 13-204 answers. Anyone can recite answers from a book. If they gained a full comprehension of the lesson, then they would be able to think more creatively or adapt to the operational environment, if the situation required.
Your job as a trainer of 13Ms is not only to have them remember the information contained within regulations. Your job, as I see it, is to get them to a deeper level of understanding of the job, so when they are in your position or leading the flight, they can lead effectively. So, are you prepared to train the next generation of 13Ms? Have you assessed your own strengths and weaknesses? Where does 13M training fall in as a priority within your schedule? Do you trust the 13M trainees to complete their training by providing them with the required expectations? How do you evaluate if the 13Ms trainee comprehends the training lesson to the degree which will set them up for success in the future? These are only a few of the questions you have to ask as the person responsible for conducting 13M MQT. The answers are up to you.
EDITORS NOTE: As with all our articles, the reader is invited to engage with the author on the content of the article to help push the discussion towards advancing the career field. If you would like to provide your own thoughts to this, or any other article on the blog, please email us at 13mdebrief@gmail.com.
[1] Ken Bain, What the Best College Teachers Do (Harvard University Press, 2004), 15–16.
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