KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. – The 335th Training Squadron is setting the standard for Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory technical training with the new PMEL Basics course to provide students with the tools to confidently navigate the operational environment.
Aligned with Second Air Force’s shift to competency-based learning, the new training method focuses on assessing the students’ ability to perform job responsibilities, addressing the deficiencies found in knowledge-based learning.
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Adam Suddeth, 335th TRS PMEL Basics course master instructor, explained that the course used to be 102 training days, where students mainly spent time sitting behind desks and attending fragmented lectures until day 82, when they began operating equipment.
“We actually found that 60% of our washout rates occurred around that time because they learned the concepts in the lectures, but were never taught how to put them together,” said Suddeth.
The new training method condenses the course duration to 88 training days and is organized for students to gain hands-on experience much earlier in their training, said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Kristopher Willms, 335th TRS PMEL Basics course instructor.
Students focus on PMEL fundamentals for the first 18 training days, he said. From training days 19-87, they learn to operate, calibrate and maintain equipment while instructors test them on their ability to complete the job responsibilities that come with being a PMEL technician.
“Instead of learning small parts of their job in isolated lectures that were never connected to each other, we’re starting them off doing the exact processes they’re going to see when they’re out in the field,” said Suddeth.
An additional adjustment to the course is that instructors now follow a team model, he added. A group of instructors will work with the same group of students throughout their entire training. The classes used to have a new instructor every three to four days, making everything tedious and ineffective due to the lack of consistency.
“With the new model, we have much longer blocks that are focused on getting Airmen ready for the field rather than a 10-question quiz,” Suddeth said.
“The updated course has already exceeded expectations regarding its success with the students,” said Willms. “When the new method was in its early stages of implementation back in June 2025, the students quickly understood concepts that were challenging for others training under the old method alongside them, even though they were further along in the course.”
He added that knowledge-based learning often left students with a significant amount of work to do before becoming proficient in their roles, even after arriving at their unit. With the implementation of competency-based learning, students are prepared to integrate more efficiently into their units at their first duty stations after completing training.
The current global landscape necessitates accelerated combat training. Switching to the new learning model helps produce technicians that operational PMEL units can immediately utilize upon arrival to complete the mission.
The PMEL Basics course upgrade underscores Keesler’s commitment to providing a world-class training environment. By accelerating PMEL technicians' capability upon graduation, Airmen are entering the operational field equipped with the resources and experience required to be mission ready.
| Date Taken: | 10.28.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 11.18.2025 10:54 |
| Story ID: | 550655 |
| Location: | BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI, US |
| Web Views: | 27 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Competency-based learning accelerates mission readiness for the 335th TRS, by SrA Devyn Waits, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
