Combat Training Concerns Linger

Orlando, February 18, 2010—Asked what issues airmen raise with him as he visits deployed forces, CMSAF James Roy said combat skills training is the No. 1 concern. Speaking at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium, Roy said the need for proper combat training is a requirement both inside [on base] and outside the wire. The service’s top enlisted airman added that the Air Force should err on the side of caution. It is better to overtrain troops for skills they may not actually utilize than to leave something out that eventually might be needed in combat during a deployment to the war zone. Planning will be key, he said, so that all airmen who are subject to joint expeditionary taskings can receive the training they need—frequently from the Army—at the time that they need it for their deployments.