Training 'frenzy' planned for April

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jason Schaap
  • 931st Air Refueling Group Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  The 931st Air Refueling Group is going on the offensive in April. Its target: ancillary readiness requirements.

A five-day "training frenzy," as Senior Master Sgt. Tammy Askren called it, is scheduled to start two days before the Group's April unit training assembly. The focus of the frenzy, Sergeant Askren said, "is to complete as much training as possible to free up the remaining UTAs for hands-on work."

Group members will be part of an all-out assault on the many time-consuming requirements that accompany their one-weekend-a-month commitment.

Sergeant Askren, 931st Civil Engineer Squadron program analyst, is part of a team set up to coordinate the April event. The team took on the task of fitting almost 20 classes into three days surrounding the April drill weekend.

"(It's) a good way to get a lot of the junk done ... all at one time," Sergeant Askren said. "Kind of like pulling a bad tooth - the idea really sucks, but you feel better once it is done."

The focus during the UTA will be medical readiness, Fit-to-Fight and unit-level training. Classes will be offered on the UTA as instructor availability allows. But basically, "the UTA will belong to the units," Sergeant Askren said.

Col. Edsel A. "Archie" Frye Jr., 931st ARG commander, said he is expecting "maximum participation" come April. It wasn't long after he took command when the colonel started talking to 931st leaders about creating a mass-training opportunity.

Ancillary-training can pile up and make Reservists feel continually pulled away from their Air Force specialty, Colonel Frye said. Law of Armed Conflict training, first-aid training, dental exams and the many other readiness requirements for Airmen can eat up entire drill weekends. "That's not what they joined the Air Force Reserve for," Colonel Frye said.

Colonel Frye also wants to use mass training to get as many people on the same training cycles as possible, he said. The fewer Airmen needing training at all different times of the year, the better for everybody.

"The goal is to consolidate training (during one UTA) so Airmen can concentrate on their jobs the other 11 UTAs," Colonel Frye said.

The first attempt at mass training in April may not look pretty, Sergeant Askren acknowledged, but she didn't think it would be "ugly" either. "We're going to learn from doing," she said.

There are plans for another training frenzy in October. Two mass events a year, Sergeant Askren said, is the goal.