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Barksdale program prepares recruits for rigors of basic training

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Ted Daigle
  • 307th Bomb Wing
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  During the July Unit Training Assembly, a lunch time crowd from the 307th Bomb Wing fills one room of the dining facility here, talking, eating and enjoying the camaraderie with their fellow Airmen. For them, lunch time is a break, a time to relax, escape the heat of the day and get away from the demands of the work place.
 
In a separate room on the other side of the dining facility, however, it's a completely different scene. A group of more than 50 young people eat in silence and study booklets and pamphlets on basic Air Force doctrine.

These young men and women are trainees in the 307th Development and Training Flight, a program designed to get recruits prepared for the rigors of Basic Military Training. For them, even lunch time is work, another class on how to do things the Air Force way.

Instructors patrol around the tables of nervous trainees while they eat and study, drilling them with questions about their new found knowledge. Suddenly, an instructor barks an order. "On your feet and I don't want hear any chairs dragging on the floor," he says loud enough for the entire dining facility to hear.

And just like that the young trainees are on their feet, in line, and hustling out the door to another class. "The DTF is a mandatory program in which 307th Bomb Wing recruits report for training during regularly scheduled UTA's and receive blocks of instruction on a variety of standards, including Air Force core values, dress and appearance, the Airman's Creed and physical fitness," said Master Sgt. Sabrina Parker, 307th Development and Training Flight facilitator.

Parker said the program came about as a result of the amount of time between a new recruit's enlistment and when they actually left for BMT. Often, the time frame is anywhere from a few months to a year.

"The wait was creating problems with retention, as some recruits started feeling disconnected from the Air Force Reserve during the wait," said Parker. "Some went to other branches of the service that could offer them training spots right away and others fell out of shape during the wait and struggled when they finally got a BMT slot."

According to Chief Master Sgt. Keith St. Aubin, 307th BW command chief, the same problems facing the 307th BW could be found throughout Air Force Reserve Command.

In response to these concerns, AFRC created the DTF initiative. Command Chiefs were challenged to take on the initiative, helping new recruits to be better prepared for BMT, thus aiding the recruits in feeling connected to their respective wings and making the Air Force Reserve stronger.

Col. Jonathan Ellis, 307 BW commander said the new program offers a new level of readiness for recruits. "This flight will give our new recruits the confidence they need during a very formative part of their military careers," he said. "Once recruits excel in these first stages, they gain the confidence they need to become leaders that will benefit the wing and the entire Air Force."

For the 307th BW, the DTF is starting to pay big dividends after only two training sessions, according St. Aubin. "The change in them from the beginning of the first day to the end of the last day was tremendous," he said. "The trainees came in and were just sort of meandering around, not sure of themselves, and by the time they left they knew what it was about and were rising to the occasion."

Parker added that many trainees who struggled early in the program are now more serious and taking on leadership roles in the flight. "We've gotten through to them that this is not a game, nor a joke," said Parker.

The 10-hour days faced by trainees are long and fast paced, with physical training starting at 6 a.m., but for the new trainees, it's all part shifting from a civilian to a military mind-set. "If I show up at BMT without this training, I don't think I would make it," said Jamarceia Peterson, 307th DTF trainee.

St. Aubin hopes the gains continue, as the 307th DTF has a goal of having 100 percent of its trainees graduate from BMT, and of those, have 10 percent become honor graduates and flight leaders.

With more than 50 trainees to handle, Parker knew plenty of volunteers would be needed to help with the program. So, she put out an all-call for volunteers with the 307th BW and their active duty counterparts in the 2nd BW. That initial call for volunteers exceeded expectations, bringing in more than 125 volunteers and creating a great deal of synergy between the Regular Air Force and Reserve wings.

Parker said the response is so large because people see the value of the program and want to be a part of positive change.

"Many of these volunteer's tell me they wish someone would have given them this opportunity before they left for BMT," said Parker.