U.S. ARMY GARRISON WIESBADEN, Germany—The 435th Contingency Response Support Squadron and 1st Combat Communication Squadron partnered to create the Advanced Air Advisor Field Craft Academy to rapidly equip Airmen with advanced skills and reduce a year-long training to under six months.
The Air Advisor Career Field Education and Training Plan upgrade training consists of 530 tasks. After this training, the students can mark 281 tasks complete.
“We created a field training exercise to train Airmen to complete the CFETP and further basic skills learned in the initial course to acquire advanced air advisor training to go on more missions,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Romain Gaskin II, 1 CBCS expeditionary training supervisor.
Air advisors represent the U.S. Air Force with partner nations to assess, train, advise, assist, and equip.
“This training prepared me for worst case scenarios,” said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Hector Montoya, 435th Contingency Response Support Squadron air advisor. “When we’re out the door, hopefully it is low threat, but we trained at a high level for worst-case scenarios.”
Montoya referenced the tragic day nine air advisors lost their lives April 27, 2011, when an Afghan air force officer opened fire in Kabul, Afghanistan, an event that remains the deadliest insider attack in the history of the war in Afghanistan.
As part of the training, 17 students honed vital skills including small unit tactics, urban warfare, land navigation, tactical casualty combat care, night vision goggle operations, active shooter scenarios, and live firing. To further facilitate team building, the training was conducted more than an hour away from Ramstein Air Base, where instructors and students lived in field-like conditions. They also held several team dinners to build stronger relationships.
“We learned we all have different strengths that we can use as force multipliers as we operate across Europe and Africa,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Tajae Gambrell, 435 CRSS advance air advisor.
One example is U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Juttland Laroza, 86th Security Forces Squadron flight sergeant, who previously spent 12.5 years in the U.S. Army.
“The tactics, techniques, and procedures I learned as an air advisor are very similar to what I learned in the Army,” said Laroza, who during his time in the Nevada National Guard built relationships with Tonga and Fiji through the State Partnership Program. “Building relationships is very important in our current operational environment.”
With just nine months time-in-service in the Air Force, Laroza benefited from the opportunity to build learn from members in other career fields and air advisors.
In the future, instructors from the 435 CRSS and 1 CBCS hope to get this training accredited and available to air advisors across the globe.