HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- The 54th Fighter Group, here, trains over 100 F-16 Viper pilots each year, with one of the key elements being that each pilot is qualified and up to date on all training before taking to the skies.
In order for each pilot to complete their qualifications, dedicated teams are in place to ensure they have completed those tasks, for the 314th Fighter Squadron that job belongs to their squadron aviation resource management flight.
“Here at SARM, we verify that the aircrew meets all their safety qualifications,” said U.S. Air Staff Sgt. Nicholas Clum, 314th FS aviation resource management noncommissioned officer in charge. “We ensure that the pilots here go through the necessary training to fly the aircraft and then we ensure that they’re up-to-date on all their qualifications.”
The qualifications that these pilots go through range from medical, physiological, aircrew flight equipment familiarization, emergency procedures, and survival training, all of which, the 314th SARM Airmen ensure are done before flying operations begin.
“This job is very enjoyable and you also need to be very detail-oriented,” said U.S. Air Force Airman Amari Ford, 314th FS aviation resource management apprentice. “If you misspell a name or put down the wrong date, then you could mess up an entire day of training.”
The 314th FS ARM Airmen are also responsible for relaying information from aircrew to maintenance ground crew and ensuring student pilots complete the right training.
“It’s a very fast-paced environment, so you have to have situational awareness and pay attention to the radios because it can be complete chaos,” said Clum. “With all the new student pilots, they have certain syllabus criteria that they have to meet to fly and if they’re not up-to-date on certain qualifications they might not be able to train that day”
One thing that the SARM Airmen might have to overcome is coming from a base with an aircrew different from the F-16.
“When I was at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England, it was completely different because the aircrew of the RC-135 Rivet Joint consisted of about 30 personnel, both officer and enlisted,” said U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Noelia Alvarez-Mendoza, 314th FS aviation resource management journeyman. “Here, with the F-16, you have an aircrew consisting of one or two personnel, with this change in aircrew size and aircraft I have to relearn a lot about my job.”
Despite all the challenges that the SARM flight might face, they’re still able to provide the 314th FS with the appropriate tools to train world-class aircrew.