Mission - Train, develop, and inspire Airmen to deliver airpower for America!
Second Air Force, with headquarters at Keesler AFB MS, is responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force, Joint and Coalition partners. Second Air Force also trains and provides oversight of Airmen completing Army training prior to Joint Expeditionary Tasking missions.
Vision - Innovative training center of excellence to power the world's
greatest Air Force.
2 AF Major Focus Areas
· Continuum of Training - Recruiting, Basic Military Training, Technical Training
· Nuclear Enterprise Training
· Supporting Joint Expeditionary Taskings
· Taking Care of People
· Growing Battlefield Airmen
· Complying with training and safety standards (especially high risk courses)
· Developing our faculty - does not stop with Basic Instructor Course
· Clear, concise policy
· Finalize C2 structure
Personnel and Resources
The Second Air Force staff consists of 160 active duty, civilian, and Individual Mobilization Augmentee personnel authorizations including officers, enlisted, and civilian personnel and two contractors.
Organization
Second Air Force manages all operational aspects of over 2,700 active training courses taught to approximately 150,000 US and International Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, and Coalition personnel annually. Second Air Force oversees the training at Goodfellow AFB TX; Lackland AFB TX; Keesler AFB MS; Sheppard AFB TX; a training group at Vandenberg AFB CA; and 92 training detachments worldwide. There are 10,420 active duty and civilian personnel including 977 officers, 6,089 enlisted, 3,012 civilians and 342 contractors supporting 108 operating locations worldwide.
History
Headquarters Second Air Force was originally established as Northwest Air District on 19 Oct 1940 and was activated on 18 December 1940 at McChord Field WA. The organization was later redesignated Second Air Force on 5 August 1941. During World War II, the command served as both an air defense and a training organization performing aircrew and replacement training for heavy and, later, very heavy bomber units. With the war's end, Second Air Force was inactivated on 30 March 1946. The command was reactivated on 6 June 1946 under the Air Defense Command, controlling primarily P-51 and P-47 air defense groups. It was again inactivated on 1 July 1948. From 1949 to 1975, as part of the Strategic Air Command (SAC), it engaged in training for strategic warfare. Second Air Force was reassigned to Air Combat Command on 1 June 1992 when SAC stood down. It was inactivated on 1 July 1993 and activated that same day at Keesler AFB MS with a change of assignment to Air Education and Training Command.
Basic Military Training
The first stop for all Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve enlisted personnel is basic military training (BMT), 737th Training Group, 37th Training Wing, at Lackland AFB TX. Lackland conducts the Air Force's only enlisted recruit training program, ensuring orderly transition from civilian to military life. Typically, between 30,000 and 40,000 new Airmen will complete this intense program each year. Recruits are trained in the fundamental skills necessary to be successful in an Expeditionary Air Force. This includes basic war skills, military discipline, physical fitness, drill and ceremonies, Air Force core values and a comprehensive range of subjects relating to Air Force life.
More than 7 million young men and women have entered BMT since 4 February 1946, when the training mission was moved to Lackland from Harlingen AFB TX. Throughout its history, Lackland's BMT program has changed in many ways to meet the operational needs of the Air Force.
Today's BMT program continues to provide the basic knowledge, skills and abilities all Airmen must have, to include instilling military discipline and knowledge, fitness as a lifestyle and a warrior Airman mindset based on AF core values. The learning process has evolved to give appropriate attention to both cognitive (thinking) and affective (emotional) components in order to "transform" civilian recruits into warrior Airmen prepared to defend their country with their life.
The program is 8.5 weeks long and structured to mirror the Air Expeditionary Force cycle with pre-deployment, deployment and reconstitution phases. This places primary importance on the warrior Airman's role to prepare for battle, fight and recover. Recruits experience this natural, recurring pattern of an Airman's life, first in BMT.
Central components to all weeks of training
- AF core values & warrior ethos: interwoven throughout every aspect of training; includes, daily
"Airman's Time" mentorship sessions guided by the military training instructor.
- Physical training six days a week of alternating aerobic and muscular-strength building
regiments.
Pre-deployment phase (Processing week and weeks 1-5)
- Initial processing: includes briefings and orientations, clothing issue, haircuts, immunizations,
and personnel processing (e.g. personnel and medical record creation, finance payments
activated, security clearances started, etc.)
- Basic discipline and teamwork: taught through drill, dormitory maintenance, wear of the
uniform, rendering military courtesies and task accomplishment.
- Instruction in basic warrior subjects: Code of Conduct; Law of Armed Conflict; Role of the
Warrior; Mental Preparation for Combat; Basic Leadership and Character; Cyberspace; Joint Warfare; Foundational Expeditionary Skills Training; Self Aid and Buddy Care; Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation; Anti-Terrorism; Introduction to Combatives; Pugil Stick Application; M-16 trainer weapon familiarization; Obstacle Course; Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive (CBRNE) defense; and Pre-Deployment Preparation.
Deployment phase (Week 6):
- Basic Expeditionary Airman Skills Training (BEAST): Trainees rehearse war skills learned and
applied earlier in training, during a week-long, field training deployment. Trainees live in a tent
encampment and accomplish mission tasks while daily exercise events increase in intensity
throughout the week. Trainees constantly rehearse responses, under combat-like pressures
which builds war skills competence and confidence in execution.
- Trainees also practice team work and critical thinking, as they take on leadership and
followership roles in response to daily air and ground attacks, opposing force penetrations,
interactions with local populations, schedule their own security teams to cover defensive
fighting positions, operate their own Unit Control Center, and report incidences to the
Expeditionary Operations Center, 24 hours a day. During one major exercise, known as
Creating Leaders, Airmen and Warriors or "The CLAW", teams of 11-15 navigate through a
360 degree tactical course with eight checkpoints, designed to reinforce problem solving,
physical and mental stamina, and strength of character in warrior success.
- The BEAST ends in a culminating event, similar to an Operational Readiness Inspection
exercise and a culminating ceremony to mark trainee "Warrior" status achievement.
Reconstitution phase (Weeks 7 and 8)
- Fundamental Airman Classes: includes Combat Stress Recovery; Suicide Awareness and
Prevention; Sexual Assault Prevention and Response; Alcohol Drug Abuse Prevention and
Treatment Program; Healthy Lifestyles; AF Organization; AF History and Heritage; Financial
Management; Joint Ethics; Public Relations and the Media; Military Entitlements;
Environmental Awareness; and Introduction to Computers (e.g. use of the Common Access
Card/AF computer network access and AF Portal familiarization).
- Instruction and briefings place emphasis on what it means to be an Airman and how to
successfully transition to technical training and future AF duty.
- Celebration/Recognition: A series of ceremonies recognize Airmen for their remarkable
achievement to include: an Airman's Run in formation flights streaming by cheering visitors; an
Airman's Coin Ceremony to mark the transition from trainee to Airman and recognition of top
performers; and a Graduation Parade to mark successful BMT program completion.
The BMT program arms graduate Airmen with the right foundational knowledge, skills, abilities, and above all, character values needed for future success in battle and to sustain the United States Air Force as the best in the world.
Technical Training
After completing BMT, Airmen begin technical training to give them the technical skills needed to perform their career field specialties. In 1973 Air Force leaders employed direct NCO supervision during technical training to focus on Airmen development. These dedicated NCOs were known as student training advisors; since 1998 they are known as military training leaders. They are charged with transitioning Airmen from the strict BMT structure to the operational environment at 34 locations across Second Air Force.
Technical training is conducted primarily at five installations: Goodfellow, Lackland, and Sheppard Air Force Bases in TX; Keesler Air Force Base MS; and Vandenberg Air Force Base CA. Highly trained instructors conduct technical training in specialties such as aircraft maintenance, civil engineering, medical services, computer systems, security forces, air traffic control, personnel, comptroller, intelligence, fire fighting and space and missile operations.
The 17th Training Group, 17th Training Wing, Goodfellow AFB TX, plans and implements Air Force and DoD-directed intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance training. The wing is also home to the DoD Fire Training Academy and provides basic and advanced fire protection training for DoD, Joint, civil service personnel and Coalition Fire Protection specialists. The 17th Training Wing graduates over 13,000 multi-service students annually. The wing manages real property, equipment, supplies and contracts in excess of $600 million and has an annual operating budget exceeding $110 million.
Under the 517th Training Group, 17th Training Wing, Goodfellow AFB TX, the Defense Language Institute (DLI)/Foreign Language Center (FLC), Presidio of Monterey CA, provides instruction in 24 languages and several dialects. Instruction takes place in eight separate language schools and the Emerging Languages Task Force, where new surge languages are taught in response to the needs of the sponsoring agencies.
The 37th Training Group, 37th Training Wing, Lackland AFB TX, provides technical training for more than 38,000 military and civilians in the armed forces, international community and other Federal agencies. Training courses include security forces, combat arms, recruiting, cryptographic equipment maintenance, services, TEMPEST, safety, logistics, contracting, Pararescue (PJ)/Combat Rescue Officer (CRO), Combat Control (CCT), Special Tactics Officer (STO), Tactical Air Control Party specialist and Air Liaison Officer (ALO), special Operations Weather (SOWT), expeditionary training (Basic Combat Convoy Course (BC3) and Combat Airmen Skills Training (CAST), Air Transportation Services and Traffic Management, and the enlisted undergraduate course. The 37th Training Group provides trained military working dogs and handlers for federal agencies and the Department of Defense.
The 937th Training Group, 37th Training Wing, Lackland AFB TX, delivers total force and international medical service, medical readiness and dental training for 13,000 students annually at three operating locations, one detachment and 16 clinical sites throughout the United States.
The 81st Training Group, 81st Training Wing, Keesler AFB MS, develops and provides initial and advanced skills , resident and nonresident operation and maintenance training to over 25,000 students annually consisting of USAF, Tri-Service, DoD, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard and international enlisted, officer and civilian personnel. Training courses encompass six functional communities awarding 31 Enlisted and six officer Air Force Specialties Codes. Additionally, the group is comprised of five academic squadrons, a training support squadron, four geographically separated units, and totals over 1,200 personnel. Courses taught throughout the Group consist of Radio Frequency Transmission, Ground Radar and Airfield Systems, Air Traffic Control, Airfield Management, Aviation Resource Management, Command Post, Aerospace Control and Warning, Airfield Operations Officer, Cyberspace Defense, Information Technology and Fundamentals, Knowledge Operations, Programming, Cyber Transport, Cyber Surety, Client Systems, Personnel, Financial Management, Education and Training, Manpower, Weather, Force Support and Precision Measurement.
The 82d Training Group, 82d Training Wing, Sheppard AFB TX, produces 17,000 total force and international graduates annually in 117 resident and mobile courses, including aircraft maintenance, propulsion, aerospace ground equipment, aircraft fuels systems, aircrew flight equipment, structures and low observables, metals technology, munitions, armament, scheduling and nuclear weapons specialties. Training is provided at Sheppard AFB, three detachments and one operating location.
The 782d Training Group, 82d Training Wing, Sheppard AFB TX, is responsible for the operational and military training of more than 19,700 total force and international students annually in more than 153 resident and mobile training courses, including aircraft systems maintenance, all aircraft avionics maintenance, telecommunications, fuels, vehicle operations and civil engineer career fields. The group also provides world-class interactive multimedia instruction capabilities to the Air Force. Services three detachments and five operating locations.
The 982d Training Group, 82d Training Wing, Sheppard AFB, TX, provides advanced aircraft, munitions and communications maintenance training for 31,500 total force and international technical and field training students annually in 665 courses at 46 detachments around the world to meet the mission-critical needs of operational commands. The group also assists units undergoing mission changes to new types of weapon systems and directs the acquisition, development, and maintenance of 14,000 training devices and 103 ground instructional training aircraft worth more than $3 billion; services 45 worldwide detachments.
The 381st Training Group, Vandenberg AFB CA, provides initial training for the nation's space and Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) operations and ICBM and air launched cruise missile maintenance forces. The group also conducts qualification training for ICBM, space warning, space lift, space command and control, satellite operations and joint interservice fundamentals, as well as computer programming, operations and maintenance. Additionally, the group provides training to Air Force Global Strike Command senior staff and instructor enhancement to support operational wings.
The Inter-American Air Forces Academy (IAAFA), Lackland AFB TX, provides professional, technical and managerial training to approximately 700 military forces and governmental agencies annually from 21 Latin American nations.
Training Our Joint & Coalition Partners
The DoD Military Working Dog School, Lackland AFB TX, provides trained military working dogs and handlers used in patrol, drug and explosive detection and specialized mission functions for DoD and other government agencies.
The DoD Fire Training Academy, Goodfellow AFB TX, provides advanced fire protection training for DoD, Joint, civil service personnel and Coalition fire protection specialists.
Coalition Air Force Transition Team (CAFTT)/ Combined Air Power Transition Force (CAPTF) Support Office, Keesler AFB MS, provides ground technical training support to the CAFTT mission in Iraq and CAPTF mission in Afghanistan.
Technical Training Operations Center
The Technical Training Operations Center (TTOC), Keesler AFB MS, provides synchronized command & control of the training enterprise to maximize efficient production of Air Force, Joint, and Coalition personnel.
The TTOC consists of the Director and 4 divisions that integrate functions across division boundaries and elements that support the overall TTOC team where needed. The divisions include: Strategy, Plans, Operations and Analysis.
The Strategy Division implements the commander's intent and director's guidance to develop policy, process improvements and leads long-range planning at the operational level to facilitate student production at the quality and quantity required. This division is comprised of the Operational Assessment and Long Range Planning Branches.
The Plans Division is responsible for operational planning and scheduling of the quantitative requirements regarding the technical training student enterprise. This division validates resource requirements and course schedules as dictated by the multiple years of the HAF Programmed Requirements Document, the Programmed Guidance Letter and the AETC Programmed Technical Training. The Plans Division is comprised of the Requirements Planning and Programming/Scheduling Branches.
The Operations Division executes and monitors current operations and makes real-time course-of-action recommendations to the TTOC Director concerning the student enterprise. The Operations Division executes its mission through the Technical Training Execution Branch and
2 AF Detachment 1 at Lackland AFB.
The Analysis Division conducts Standardization Evaluation Inspections at all 2 AF technical training geographically separated units (GSU) and AETC/IG Compliance Inspections at approximately 55 GSUs. The Analysis Division also provides operational assessment on the quality of student graduates; primarily focusing on Graduate Assessment Survey (GAS)/Field Evaluation Questionnaire (FEQ) data and trend analysis. Lastly, the Analysis Division provides analysis data to Strategy, Operations and Plans divisions, as required, as well as to strategic and tactical levels.
Joint Expeditionary Tasking
The 602d Training Group (Provisional), Keesler AFB, MS, provides fully combat mission capable Airmen, to all Combatant Commanders, in direct support of the Joint Expeditionary Tasking (JET) mission
The 602 TRG(P) oversees approximately 4,500 Airmen annually attending Combat Skills Training (CST) at U.S. Army Power Projection Platforms (PPPs) throughout the country. CST courses ensure Airmen meet pre-deployment requirements supporting in-theater tasks to include Provincial Reconstruction Teams, Police Transition Teams and Combat Advisor Teams. JET Airmen train at the individual and collective task levels, in both field and garrison environments learning to shoot, move, communicate and treat on the battlefield.
The 602 TRG(P) total force team manages a command and control (C2) operations center, located at Keesler AFB, and up to seven USAF training detachments, co-located at the Army PPPs, maintaining continuous C2 over all JET Airmen in CST. The 602 TRG(P) retains ADCON over Airmen throughout CST, coordinates onward movement of JET Airmen from the MTC into theater and coordinates the return of Army equipment issued to JET Airmen during CST, via the post-deployment Third Party Turn-In process.
Mission Support
The Mission Support Division is responsible for supporting the personnel, communications, budget, reserve affairs, and readiness needs of the Second Air Force staff. Additionally, the Mission Support Division directly advises the Commander on the Program Objective Memorandum (POM), Management Level Reviews and personnel issues affecting officer, enlisted and civilian personnel assigned. Finally, they are responsible for the operation of communications-computer systems architecture and capital investments to command-wide education and training management systems.
Staff Judge Advocate
The Staff Judge Advocate (SJA) serves as the principal military justice advisor to the 2 AF Commander, the staff and the command's four training wing legal offices. The SJA provides the Second Air Force Commander with recommendations and options at all stages of the court-martial process and provides advice on all non-judicial punishment actions involving officers, senior master sergeants and chief master sergeants. The SJA provides legal guidance to over 140 military and civilian attorneys on all areas of fiscal law and government ethics.
Safety
Second Air Force Safety Office provides the best possible mishap prevention program for all personnel that make up the numbered Air Force. Second Air Force is responsible for the implementation of policy created by Air Education and Training Command. The safety team advises the Second Air Force Commander on all pertinent matters within the parameters of safety for the entire numbered Air Force. This office internally manages the safety program for the headquarters.