the air force has announced the creation of a new information operations technical training school the first command simply must arm our airmen to outrank outperform out-partner out-innovate any potential adversary air force basic military training has an updated curriculum with a new focus on readiness and lethality the first command the air force starts here hello and welcome to the air force starts here podcast i'm your host for this professional development podcast jennifer gonzalez from the aetc public affairs team in this episode we are excited to be discussing the fact that family and friends will once again be able to watch their loved ones graduate from the air force basic military training live and in person as you likely recall back in march of 2020 the air force suspended attendance to mass gatherings which included bmt graduations this was done to combat the coronavirus which was wreaking havoc across the globe now more than a year later with the covid vaccine widely available in the u.s and cases on the decline things are beginning to slowly open back up including bmt graduation in fact the first in-person graduation ceremony is scheduled for july 22nd i got the chance to speak with the commander of the 737th training group at joint base san antonio lackland texas colonel jeffrey pixley about how he is balancing the risk to mission force and community take a listen hello colonel pixley and thank you so much for joining us on the air force starts here podcast oh i'm so happy to be here jennifer thank you for having me all right so what a year it has been for bmt it certainly has i i just arrived here a few weeks ago from my previous assignment in alaska but i've been watching dmt carefully last year and uh what a year indeed that what this team has accomplished in in continuing bmt operations and filling the air force's training needs uninterrupted during covet has been nothing short of astonishing and the chief here and this whole team have just set the standard for for the dod i know that the air force and aetc as a whole could not be prouder of what everyone has done there at bmt to make sure that pipeline keeps flowing but july 22nd is a really big day there for bmt trainees and their families yes it is you know the uh it was a difficult decision but absolutely the right decision to to not have families attend graduation for more than a year now and the bringing them back on july 22nd was something that everybody has wanted to do but we had to make sure that we were 100 ready and and not taking any unnecessary risks for our trainees or the staff here or the family members or for that pipeline so a lot of thought went into it and uh and we arrived at this date so we could have a deliberate roll out of of this very important element of basic training it really is about you know balancing that risk to mission force and community that general tullis um speaks of the second air force commander absolutely absolutely it is a balance and it's one that uh that we know is not a it's not a formula and it's not something that's going to be static july 22nd is the lead up to it and the execution of july 22nd is going to be a learning experience and what we do on july 29th and again august are going to be uh the result of what we learned and we fully appreciate that we don't know how it's going to go but we have a great team that's thinking through all of these issues so uh we have uh all the benefits of the families being here and uh and and we're ready to respond if it uh if it doesn't go as we hope for if or if we just learn something we didn't anticipate it's a pretty complex piece so what are those safety measures for graduations that's going to be implemented to ensure the safety of our airmen the one that is probably going to get the most attention or has so far is the requirement that our family members to attend the graduation ceremony it uh they have to present proof of covet 19 vaccinations so everybody who enters the airmen's arena for the ceremony will have to show that they've been vaccinated uh and this and the second key feature is we are limiting the number of deaths per training to a maximum of two per training which was not traditionally how we had handled in the past and that's speaking back to us taking this a crawl walk run flooding the arena with every family member who might be vaccinated could quickly overwhelm based and we want to be methodical about it so uh the the there'll be social distancing in place uh and of course there'll be uh there will be it'll be all vaccinated personnel but people who wanna wear masks will be encouraged to wear masks for their own safety and comfort and and the interaction between trainees and their family are going to be uh are going to be limited depending on the staff of the vaccination of the airmen themselves so when an airman guardian graduates on on that thursday whether or not they go downtown for the coveted san antonio town pass will depend on uh whether or not the the individual was vaccinated so those are some of the measures we have in place right now and uh on top of that we're going to continue to be disciplined in enforcing hygiene uh hand washing a standard things that we actually used to do even before this is this the emt is is bmp is a lot like a cruise ship and it always has been we put a lot of people in the same place at the same time there are extra measures you have to take all the time at bmt even absent a covid crisis just the the regular blue back in uh uh when i was here in my previous assignment and when the chief was hearing his the flu could come through and disrupt bmt so we've always had special procedures in place we're just uh we're we're doing it as uh year-round now and and and we're and we're being vigilant and we're in it and we're gonna expect it to be frank we're gonna expect our visitors to to be disciplined vigilant as well because it's for the benefit of our of our staff our airmen guardians and the training pipeline as i mentioned we're still fighting through covid and you mentioned that the guests who are coming to graduation are going to need to show their proof of id how exactly do the guests provide the required documents no i'm so glad you asked that question because we we actually have a two-stage process to get to this graduation so the first hurdle that the visitors need to get through is getting base access and that's a well-practiced uh process we've used for years and our partners here on jvsa uh are are re-starting that previous process which includes the standard get the information family members and family members submit their information for background checks and other information to provide them access to the installation so all that is happening a lot like it did back uh in uh previous years when they get the gate they're gonna have to show their their uh permitted on base through that process we are not at the gate to the beach or vaccination status that is something we're going to do at the second level which is in and around the graduation site itself so we're not going to put that burden on our security forces partners when the families get to the site we will then be asking for proof of vaccination and that is literally we're asking them to show us the the paper cdc vaccination parts they were issued when they got their shots uh and i know that that that is probably a burden in some ways but it's uh because the safety and uh health of our airmen and guardians and staff is my number one priority i am willing to and and i hope that the family are willing to to deal with that minor inconvenience of having to travel with that piece of paper because it's that important to us that we get this right and what's the feedback that you've been hearing from the trainees they're very excited they're incredibly excited about the opportunity of families here and that that should come as no surprise what what may surprise our listeners is that we are enthusiastic about it too and the kind of point i alluded to before i'm a firm believer that the the air force makes an impact air force imprints on our airmen and guardians at that ceremony and the family members being there makes that imprint stronger and uh when an airman thinks back to their graduating moment and and remembers their mom or dad or sisters or uh works loved ones in the crowd cheering and crying and holding up signs there's a there's a a a emotional impact to that that i don't think can be measured it may not be widely understood or studied but i'm a firm believer that that the the how meaningful this accomplishment feels to someone in in the later years in their career is related to how uh how exciting and how emotion-filled it is and families here are a huge driver for that and so that's from the aaron's perspective from the family's perspective i'm also a firm believer that if the airman's family gets to come to bmt graduation and sees what they went through she this place appreciates the incredible work of military training instructors who guided and mentored and inspired their their loved ones through basic training that imprint on the family of the air force the positivity has a direct correlation to future retention to recruiting of other family members and just a sense of pride in what we do here and i i think that's that it's so important that we do that that we can do it safely as a mandatory department it's something that i will if i have to choose between that and safety that's an easy choice but i think we're now at a point where we don't have to make that choice anymore if we do it smartly we really have that imprinting moment for the airmen guardians and their families and uh and it's gonna be the magic is gonna be back for those not able to attend graduation will you all still continue to stream them facebook live absolutely the the streaming that we've done that we had to do because of covid is something i'm committed to for the long term because we know that not everybody even even when we have unlimited guests with that comes one day there are situations where family members can't be here and i i think we have an outstanding team here they can put together and i think it's improving with each cycle a production that uh that gives some of that that the vibe and the feeling and that magic can come through the screen to folks we're going to continue to do that the only if i can take a minute for a a really strong advisement to the people who are going to watch our live streams is it is always free through the bmt facebook page there are there are fraudsters and uh and trolls out there who flood pages about bmt with misinformation and links to pay to see the bmt graduation that is never true our real facebook page is where we can watch that and if you missed that you can go to our youtube page and watch a recorded version of it every week never pay to watch a bmt graduation for after the graduation ceremony how will off-base liberty work and will it be happening at all it will be happening the uh it's just going to be that one day because one of the changes we made during kobe changed the timing of the departure from basic training as the airman guardians go off to their their next training at their technical training so it'll be that one day but i'm committed to making that a reality i think the san antonio river walk does not look the same unless there's a slick sleeve airmen walking around their blues with their family i just it's going to be just the one day which i know is uh is not ideal but we want to continue to make that happen as long as we can do it safely and uh and our area can go downtown and have a great visit with our families i'd like to happen do you have any final thoughts as we close out my final thoughts are back to where we started what what the team here chief gaiden and and the staff and the and the commander i replaced did in dmt is so noteworthy and so praiseworthy and it really wrote this wrote the book on how to react how to be agile how to focus on the things that are important which is safety and health and accomplishing the mission in a way that i think is not fully appreciated yet but i think one day there will be books written about what was done here and the sacrifices that were made by the military training instructors and their families when we were continuing to ship folks here we knew we're probably in a test positive for covid and we found a way to continue to train and our ntis continue to come to work every day with professionalism and uh and a really a warrior spirit to get this mission accomplished i don't think we fully appreciate the impact that had on them and their families yet but if if i could leave you with anything instead this team is phenomenal they care so much about what they do and their highest priority is taking good care of the men and women that america's parents and siblings and and loved ones send us and uh and they deserve just a giant amount of praise i couldn't be more proud of them thinking about the year under kovit and closing of bmt graduation we have to commend and appreciate the families who went virtual and pivoted as we needed to protect our pipeline absolutely and there were nobody was happy about it but everybody was we were in this together and there are huge numbers of us you know informal support groups holding each other up as they as they sent their young uh their their loved ones to basic training and you know put yourself in their shoes imagine in the middle of a of a global pandemic that you put your child on an airplane and send them off to uh to basic training you know my all my kids are grown and even as a as someone with as an empty nester with grown children dakota crisis was was incredibly difficult that i couldn't be there with my children during the coveted crisis yet we still had family members out there so committed to the defense of our nation that they were willing to send us their their sons and daughters during the kobe crisis it just speaks volumes to what this country is and and the level of patriotism and and uh willingness to sacrifice that still exists it just it gives me so much pride in in our in our airmen and our service and i know as i get older in my career soon enough the chief and i are going to be hanging it up and off to people the people who raise their hands during this time are pretty special thank you sir for your time i was happy to do it any time opening day is subject to change if local conditions and covid19 protocols change for continual updates follow usafbmt on facebook or visit their website at www.basictraining.af dot mil bmt graduations are scheduled for every thursday at 9 am central if you cannot attend the graduation remember it streams live on facebook for free if you do get the chance to go be sure to wear a hat sunscreen bring sunglasses and wear comfortable shoes thank you for the subscribe stream or download and as a reminder you can follow air education and training command and the aetc command team on social media we're on facebook twitter instagram youtube and linkedin from our entire aetc public affairs team i'm jennifer gonzalez and talk to you next time on the air force starts here