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AMC vice commander calls Expeditionary Center 'transformational'

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sgt. Paula Paige
  • U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center Public Affairs
FORT DIX, N.J. --  Lt. Gen. Vern "Rusty" Findley marks the passing of time not in hurried minutes or seconds, but in the lingering days of a paper calendar.

"Two thousand, five hundred and sixty-nine days is a long time," the vice commander of the Air Mobility Command said, counting the number of days since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. General Findley mentioned that number often during a Sept 22 to 23 show-and-tell tour of the Expeditionary Center, the Air Force's elite training facility for deploying Airmen.

"It's something I do to help myself remember," the general said of why he tracks the days. "Those of us in the military will never forget, nor can we ever forget what's happened since that day and what we've been asked to do since then. It's a way for me to reinforce with myself and those I talk to. This has been a long war. It portends to continue to be a long war. It's a fresh reminder of the duties that we have signed up to do to defend our freedoms."

Accompanied by an entourage of his senior staff, General Findley, whose command is responsible for the bulk of the Air Force's strategic transportation assets and mission, including the Expeditionary Center's, marched across the training landscape, getting a macro view of the school's mission. Engaging and inquisitive, he peppered slide show presentations with questions and offered his continued gratitude to the Airmen he met at the Expeditionary Center.

During the first day of his two-day tour, General Findley focused on the academic side of the center. Among other things, he saw the Expeditionary Operations School's utilitarian living conditions of the dormitories that can occupy 694 students at any given time and in fiscal 2008 served more than 4,600 students. He also learned about Mobility Operations School's air transportation courses that, through on-line courses alone, graduates more than 8,800 students a year.

"We get to show off what AMC funding has done for us," said Staff Sgt. Jonathan McClure, Mobile Command and Control Environmental Unit Course director, as he got ready to brief the general. Sergeant McClure highlighted the new concrete pad for the MOS mobile command and control training area; pointed out the upgraded paving around the center's parking lot, where four years ago construction equipment used to get stuck in the mud. Sergeant McClure also painted a picture for the general of the soon-to-be built classroom with full audiovisual capability that would replace the current equipment lockers being used for walls.

On the second day of his tour, General Findley continued his march to nearby Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst, the site for Air Force Exercise Eagle Flag which re-creates a deployed combat environment to train and test Airmen before they deploy. Meeting several food service workers in a field tent, he speculated about that evening's menu.

"What are you serving tonight? I saw the chocolate chips." General Findley said as he shook hands with several of the Airmen, telling them to "learn all you can."

Airman 1st Class Norman Marcus of Holloman AFB, N.M., said seeing the general show up in the mobile dining hall was inspiring: "It helps motivate us and shows that they (leadership) care."

"Instructors are military missionaries," said Lt. Col. Mitchell Monroe, commandant of the 421st Combat Training Skills Squadron, as he briefed General Findley and his staff on his school's responsibilities. "We train Airmen to go into harm's way. It doesn't matter whether you're a chaplain or security forces, you've got to know how to defend yourself and treat the wounded."

The USAF EC, with its various schools that teach everything from aviation records management, maintenance, aerial port skills, weapons training and combat self defense to how to treat the wounded and advanced instruction for securities forces, is reinforcing its role as the primary education site for Airmen who deploy and find themselves in harm's way utilizing a training budget of more than $19 million. More than 79 Airmen have died and 476 have been wounded in action, most in ground expeditionary roles, since operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom began, according to recent figures from the Department of Defense Casualty Reporting Office.

"It's critical for leaders, like General Findley, who've just taken on new roles to see how Airmen train," said Maj. Gen. Kip Self , the leader of 377 Airmen and civilians at the Expeditionary Center and its detachments across the country. "General Findley has just returned from Central Command in Iraq, so he brings the deployed perspective as he observes our training."

For several members of General Findley's staff, the visit to the center was enlightening. Chaplain (Col.) Brian Van Sickle is responsible for all the religious programs in AMC and the U.S. Transportation Command for the past two years. He said he was eager to understand the chaplain's role in the Eagle Flag exercise, the Air Force's only chief of staff-directed flag level exercise focusing on expeditionary combat support skills.

"I want our chaplains to learn deployment skills so they won't be a burden and contribute to the mission," Col. Van Sickle said, as his boots kicked up gravel at the Eagle Flag site. "This exercise is an education for the chaplains: What is their role? Where do they do confidential counseling in a combat environment? When and where do they hold services?"

Describing himself as the "chief geek of AMC," Mr. Dave Merrill is the director of analysis assessments and "lessons learned" for AMC. "Our motto is 'insight not numbers,'" said Mr. Merrill who noted he came to the Expeditionary Center to provide information for senior leaders for the "lessons learned" portion of his job description.

"Lessons learned is a growing enterprise," Mr. Merrill said. "I'm here with General Findley to help the Air Force establish a lessons learned culture. In the past, lessons learned were bits of information gathered and archived and rarely used. Today, lessons learned does the same function but is much more operational. ...I'm pretty excited about what's going on here. This is an environment rich with lessons learned, that not only applies to classes here at Eagle Flag, but we can push lessons learned to other services, forward into CENTCOM and hopefully prepare our warriors for what they'll learn in the field."

And lessons were learned. Chief Andrew Hollis, a group superintendent from Edwards AFB, Calif., was playing the role of command chief during the Eagle Flag exercise. He said he was most impressed by the authentic performances of the role players in the exercise, especially those acting as townspeople in the fictional village of Chimaera.

"When you interact with the Chimerons, you get the tingly feeling on the back of your neck that you are talking to a real Chimaeron," Chief Hollis said. "They are always in character. The whole environment is much more real than expected. I epitomize the target audience. I haven't deployed before.

"General Findley's visit today is a testament to how valuable this training is," the chief said. "We spend a lot of money to get people from all over. As leaders, we are stewards of Air Force money."

Though used to the deference accorded a general's rank, General Findley summed up his visit with high praise for the center and its people, calling it "transformational."

"It's been a great two days for me to get out here and see where we've come," he said. "Since I've been out of the command for a while, I'm quite impressed with what General Self and those before him have done to transform the training here; what they've done with Eagle Flag; and what they're doing to prepare all of our great young men and women in the U.S. Air Force who are being tasked to go over and join all of our other partners in the Middle East in the Global War on Terrorism. It truly is transformational what we've done here."