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57th WPS gives 'Ph.D.s' in weapons system

  • Published
  • By Airman Rebekah Phy
  • McGuire Public Affairs
MCGUIRE AIR FORCE BASE, N.J. --  Nearly every type of aircraft in the United States Air Force took to the skies Dec. 7 for an exercise where aircrews simulated a takedown as if in hostile territory. C-17s performed an on-call airdrop; simulating dropping supplies to ground troops. C-130s did likewise, while F-15s performed offensive counter air, F-16s, F-15Es and B-52s performed strike missions, and tankers refueled, along with many other support aircraft.

Making C-17 pilots masters of weapons systems -- readying them for this exercise and equipping them to return to their base to teach warfighting capability to their unit is what the 57th Weapons Squadron, a tenant unit here, is all about.

Its current class recently traveled to Nellis AFB, Nev., headquarters of the U.S. Weapons School, for a C-17 flying mission in the last days of its five-and-a-half month course.

"The Air Force's weapons school provides Ph.D.-level training to instructors all across the Air Force," said Lt. Col. Johnny Roscoe, 57th WPS commander. "We take already fantastic instructor pilots and give them 'Ph.D.s' in the weapons system - we train them to be even better."

The unit, which is part of Air Combat Command, consists of only 25 members and hosts two, five-and-a-half month courses each year.

The school is extremely competitive and only accepts six students each class. The accepted pilots are "the best of the best" in their wing, probably the top one or two, Colonel Roscoe said.

The course syllabus consists of more than 300 hundred academic hours, 140 flight hours and 24 aircraft sorties.

The students face six phases in the course, slowly building them up to integrated complex combat scenarios, Colonel Roscoe said.

"This is a very difficult school," Colonel Roscoe said. "It's very demanding and time consuming - a lot of time management skills come into play."

"Being a team is an important concept here," said Maj. Gregg Johnson, 57th WPS instructor. "If one person has a piece of the puzzle and doesn't pass it on, they could fail the entire mission. Communication is key."

Upon graduation Saturday, the students will receive the U.S. Air Force Weapons School graduate patch.

"Humble, approachable and credible" is a graduate's motto, and it describes what it means to be an Air Force weapons officer, Colonel Roscoe said.

"It's all about credibility - that's one reason the school is so difficult," Colonel Roscoe said. "The patch is coveted and unique, because they went through this school - the people wearing it make all the difference. They have credibility. The graduates go back to their units and share their knowledge about everything they learned here. Their job is to prepare their unit for war time."

Because the course is so time consuming, the instructors have to be equally devoted to the course and their students.

"This squadron is dedicated to making our students better - we fail if we don't take that extra step to make sure they're ready for anything," Colonel Roscoe said.

"As hard as this course is, the instructors put in as much time as necessary and more," said Maj. Tony Carr, 10th Airlift Squadron pilot, McChord, Wash., and student in the class. "The instructors here work as hard as anyone I've ever seen in the Air Force to construct this learning laboratory for us."

This is the most challenging thing I've done in my 16 years in the Air Force," Major Carr said. "By pushing us as hard as they did, I've learned more here than I thought I could as a C-17 instructor pilot."

You come here highly trained in your weapons system and they open you up to the operational Air Force. They teach you how to integrate with the rest of the combat assets that we employ as an Air Force," Major Carr said. "That's really what this school is all about. The bottom line of this course is that it takes you to the top of your game as a pilot."

They're also a fantastic support system - we're TDY here for almost six months - they kind of become your family and take care of you," Major Carr said. "They create an environment where you feel completely supported."

The instructors seem to gain as much from the course as the students.

"You see people when they first get here and over the five months, as a team and the knowledge they gain - these are experienced guys, but seeing how much they learn is the most rewarding thing," said Maj. Jeff Nelson, 57th WPS training officer and instructor.

"The students go back and share their knowledge, so when we get a new class, it can be challenging. We have to continually raise the bar, because the students know so much."

Other instructors have similarly rewarding experiences.

"Getting a chance to instruct the best instructors, where they go out and share their knowledge is amazing," said Capt. Joe Vanoni, 57th WPS phase manager and instructor. "We're a key point in the C-17 becoming a tactical thinking community."

"This class is probably the most experienced group we've had," Captain Vanoni said. "They're a great group of guys who are going to do amazing things."

"They spend five-and-a-half months getting to where they are," Colonel Roscoe said. "The goal here at Nellis is to learn how to integrate with all those other assets in a peacetime training environment and make it as real as possible, so our graduates don't have to deal with an extreme they haven't seen yet. The next time, it could be for real."

"Being a weapons officer is about being a great instructor. Instructorship is the main focus of our syllabus," Colonel Roscoe said. "While we expose our students to academics and combat scenarios, it doesn't do the Air Force much good if they cannot go back and in a humble, approachable, and credible way pass on what they have learned."

The graduates will soon depart McGuire, and the 57 WPS will begin to prepare for their next group of students.

"There is no way we could turn from one class to another and do such a great job if it wasn't for my dedicated pilots, loadmasters, intel and admin troops - they are the hardest working people I've ever served with, and I thank them and their families for what they do everyday."