81st TRW: a new direction in AF training
By Airman 1st Class Seth Haddix, 81st Training Wing Public Affairs
/ Published July 17, 2020
KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- During these times of uncertainty and instability, training new Airmen is necessary to accomplish the Air Force mission. The 81st Training Wing is aiming to produce Airmen faster and more efficiently with the new Direct to Duty Technical Training Program.
This new program sends select Airmen to their duty station after graduating Basic Military Training instead of attending technical training school.
“The purpose of this program is to not only train Airmen quicker, but more efficiently,” said Senior Master Sgt. Keith Clay, 336th Training Squadron Superintendent. “Training the Airmen at their base will allow them to familiarize themselves to the mission and allow them to adapt to their installations’ needs.”
Officials from the 81st TRW and Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, worked together to train four cyber students in their squadron at Goodfellow instead of sending them to a traditional technical training school. The trial run resulted in the Airmen completing their training successfully.
Among those Airmen was Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Coulter, 17th Communications Squadron knowledge manager.
“The self-paced training allowed me to develop into a better knowledge manager,” said Coulter. “I have built my skills on experience and hands-on learning.”
“D2T2 paves a better pathway for our Airmen,” said Staff Sgt. Rafael Daniel, 17th CS Knowledge Management Center NCO in charge. “The process integrates them into our mission priorities and progresses them quicker. Going straight to their duty location eliminates the need for technical training at a technical school and also saves money for the Air Force that can be used to improve other aspects of training.”