Air Combat Command has launched a sweeping end-to-end review of its training activities to better align them with current warfighting priorities, Gen. William Fraser, Air Combat Command boss, said Feb. 19 at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando. “I want to make sure that we are training the way that we are going to be fighting,” he told reporters after his address, expanding on comments made in December. He said the review will assess which training activities require a higher degree of proficiency for today’s fight and where “measured risk” could be taken to reduce training demands—de-emphasizing some secondary training—now placed on frequently deploying units. And, ACC wants to rethink the best mix of actual flight training vs. simulator and virtual training, making such non-flying activities count toward proficiency requirements. Fraser noted, too, that more virtual training would help reduce the strain on legacy airframes.
When acting Air Force Secretary Gary A. Ashworth rescinded service-wide “Family Days” last week citing the need to build readiness, he left it up to commanders, directors, and supervisors to decide if they would still permit extra days off. Here’s how Air Force major commands are taking that guidance.