Detachment 12 teaches redesigned F-16 crew chief course; creates combat ready crew chiefs Published Nov. 30, 2020 By Airman 1st Class Brooke Moeder 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. -- In July 2020, the Air Force introduced a newly redesigned course for F-16 Fighting Falcon crew chiefs going through technical training. After completing technical training at Sheppard AFB, F-16 crew chiefs will now by-pass Holloman AFB and proceed directly to their first duty station to attend Right Time Training. RTT “is their on-the-job training for the most part,” said Staff Sgt. Darion Hubbard, 372nd Training Squadron F-16 crew chief instructor. “The purpose is when the Airman gets to their unit, after going through RTT, they’re competent enough to do the job on their own.” The 372nd Training Squadron, Detachment 12, plays a critical role in producing combat ready crew chiefs at Luke AFB. The six-week course features intensive instructor-led hands-on material to familiarize the Airmen with location specific maintenance operations. With a small class-size featuring five students, instructors can offer students a more personal experience, said Hubbard. “I take them to the flightline to get them familiar and comfortable with being around the aircraft,” said Hubbard. “We also get hands-on with the jets. By the time my last class graduated, all their uniforms were done for.” Luke AFB’s first RTT class graduated October 6 and a second is in session and projected to graduate December 9. “Now we're just getting to the meat of what they need to do regarding daily sortie generations,” said Hubbard. “That includes lots of launching out and refueling aircraft, taking oil samples, doing their inspections and proper forms of documentation.” The new process saves the Air Force money by cutting an additional duty station from the process and allowing the Airmen to focus on flightline operations. Previously, after completing technical training at Sheppard AFB, Airmen would travel to Holloman AFB to learn the basics. This new process enables the Airmen to go directly from Sheppard to their first duty station. In its first two iterations, the class has evolved to fit the needs of the students. Hubbard said the first class he taught spent two weeks in a classroom and the last four on the flightline. The class he is currently teaching completes one week in the classroom and the last five weeks on the flightline. “For training we go to the flightline to launch, recover and refuel the jet,” said Airman 1st Class Diego Garcia, 372nd TRS F-16 crew chief. “He just expects us to do our best and if we're struggling he just wants to see that we're learning and capable of absorbing information.” Detachment 12 is the largest training detachment in the Air Force and had a large part in the validation process for the course, said Hubbard. When the Airmen finish the new RTT course, they will be proficient in their job and able to hit the ground running at their first duty station. “We want to ensure we send out quality crew chiefs,” said Hubbard. “We want to make sure that they're ready to operate on the flightline and generate sorties day in and day out.”