Assignment Goodfellow
by Lieutenant Colonel Mike Rogers, USAF
Most of us who have been in the U.S. Air Force's Air
Intelligence Agency or any of its predecessors for a while have
fond memories of Goodfellow Air Force Base (AFB), Texas, home of
cryptologic training. I know my memories of Goodfellow from 18
years ago, when I went through Signals Intelligence (SIGINT)
officer school there, were of a sleepy little Air Force base on the
outskirts of the friendly little town of San Angelo. San Angelo is
still a friendly little town, but that's about the only thing
that's remained the same. Goodfellow AFB and it's mission have
grown and diversified greatly in the last few years, and the
resident 17th Training Wing is on the leading edge of technical
training innovation in the Air Education and Training Command .
Organization and Mission
The 17th Training Group (TRG) has grown into a diverse technical
training organization that trains disciplines far different from
the SIGINT-focused school of the past. The 17th TRG consist of four
squadrons and three geographically separated units. Figure 1 on the
following page outlines the basic organization of the 17th TRG and
the missions of its subordinate units.
The Base Realignment and Closure process has contributed to the
growth of the training mission at Goodfellow AFB. The following
highlights some of training missions transferred to the 17th TRG:
- General military intelligence (GMI) training from Lowry
AFB, Colorado, in 1992.
- Imagery and electronic intelligence training from Keesler
AFB, Mississippi, in 1994.
- Joint service fire training from Chanute AFB, Illinois
,in 1993.
If you have not been to Goodfellow AFB in a while, the new fire
school, part of the 312th TRS is a sight to behold. The school has
a new 213,867 square foot facility and a huge vehicle fleet of
firefighting trucks and large, modern fire training pits. The
projected student load for fire training students alone for 1996 is
3004, over three times the student load for cryptolinguists.
Intelligence Training
Yes, Goodfellow AFB has retained its original cryptolinguists,
analysis and reporting, cryptologic maintenance, and SIGINT officer
training functions. These are now spread out over the 312th, 315th,
and 316th Training Squadrons (TRSs). The 311th, 313d, and 314th
TRSs exercise administrative control over Air Force students going
through the schools for which other services are the executive
agencies.
312th Training Squadron. The 312th TRS provides analysis and
reporting (A&R) training for all Services. This training is
undergoing a major revision. It still culminates in an exercise
that replicates a Surveillance & Warning Center. There are,
however, many new training initiatives within the A&R training
flight. The new Consolidated Intermediate Analysis and Reporting
Course (CIARC) came on line 5 April 1995. In addition, all four
Services are in the process of revising their entry level A&R
training courses. The U.S. Navy and the Marine Corps expect their
new course to come on-line by October 1995. The U.S. Army and the
Air Force are in the first stages of course redevelopment. Both
courses are also candidates for further reengineering as the 17th
TRG attempts to integrate all enlisted and officer intelligence
training exercises.
315th Training Squadron. The 315th TRS is implementing a major
reengineering of its alpha (operations) and bravo (applications)
officer courses. The new courses will consist of realistic
scenarios and performance-based training. The objective will be to
produce a more mission-ready graduate who can hit the ground
running with minimal training upon arrival at that first duty
station.
The "alpha" course will expose the future intelligence operations
officers to simulated field site operations that provide more
direct interface with enlisted analysts, reporters, and linguist
students. To enhance the applications officer training, the
squadron is introducing the Combat Intelligence Systems to it's
arsenal of training systems. This new state-of-the-art workstation
supports Air Force mission planning and targeting. It is exactly
the type of equipment intelligence applications officers will use
in the field.
316th Training Squadron. Cryptologic linguist training for all
Services is the job of the 316th TRS. The squadron provides
target-specific training in nine languages: Arabic, Chinese,
French, Hebrew, Korean, Persian-Farsi, Russian, Spanish, and
Vietnamese. It provides a non-target course that provides general
cryptolinguist training to low-flow language students, such as
Tagalog and Portugese.
Cryptologic students train on the 468-position Voice Processing
Training System (VPTS). Although an old and slow system by today's
standards, the VPTS is a success story with over 12,000 hours of
active courseware and a 98 percent reliability rate. The VPTS was
the Department of Defense's first experience with a large-scale
computer-assisted instruction training system. The system's
technology is now outdated and in the seventh year of a planned
ten-year life expectancy. Studies are ongoing to select a system to
replace the VPTS. Emphasis for the new system is for one that
provides commonality with fielded operational systems and the
latest in interactive, computer-based instructional technology.
Additionally, a team is exploring the idea of an end-of-course
computer-based simulated exercise that would integrate all of the
intelligence disciplines taught at Goodfellow into a single
learning experience that closely replicates the entire spectrum of
intelligence support to the warfighter.
Jointness--A Way Of Life
"Joint training" is not just a catchy phrase at Goodfellow AFB; it
is something we've been doing for a long time. In fact, the 316th
TRS is the Air Force Air Education and Training Command's model for
joint training.
In both the 312th and 316th squadrons, joint courses are numerous,
and becoming more so every year. For instance, in 1990 there were
only three consolidated courses (as in comprised of more than one
Service ): Hebrew, Persian-Farsi, and Vietnamese. Late last year,
the Air Force and Navy decided to combine their Arabic courses; by
late 1995, there will be consolidated Korean and Chinese courses.
The trend is for most of the remaining courses, including Russian
and Spanish, to eventually consolidate. This will bring our
language training more in line with the realities of joint
operations in the field and activities such as the Regional SIGINT
Operations Centers.
In the joint classroom, instructors from different Services teach
students from all the Services. Optimally, these instructors become
qualified to teach all phases of an entire course. This exposes
students at an early stage to the multi-service environment they
will no doubt encounter in the field.
Another indicator of interservice cooperation toward the same goals
is the opening of Goodfellow's Consolidated Language Resource
Center (LRC). Housed in an older building, Air Force and Army
personnel teamed up and completed a self-help project to refurbish
the facility. Through their efforts, the LRC is now a place where
students can work on sharpening their language skills. Opened in
January 1995, the LRC houses various computer-based and
conventional language refresher and maintenance programs. It also
possesses facilities for Satellite Communications for Language
broadcasts and a video-teleconferencing. Since January 1995, the
LRC has conducted six language refresher classes in the
video-teleconferencing room.
Instructor Duty-
Challenging and
Rewarding
Instructor duty at Goodfellow gives the very best Air Force
commissioned and noncommissioned officers the opportunity to help
build the intelligence and firefighting career force of the future.
Duty days are long and filled with plenty of challenges.
Instructors are not only expected to deal with every facet of the
student's academic and military progression, but also to maintain
the health of the course through continuous feedback from the
field.
The instructors gain feedback through the Graduate Assessment
Survey. The survey is one of the newest forms for gaining feedback
from the field. This survey is sent directly from Headquarters, 2d
Air Force Headquarters, at Keesler AFB, Mississippi, and to
supervisors of graduates at all operational Air Force wings,
centers and agencies. The instructor must contact the graduate's
rater for any rating below satisfactory. Through discussion with
the rater, the instructor is able to indentify and resolve
potential training shortfalls.
In addition to the Graduate Assessment Survey, a feedback program
has begun that sends instructors back to the field to get
face-to-face feedback from our operational customers, former
students and their supervisors. Taken in total, these efforts to
improve the quality of training at Goodfellow Air Force Base are
paying big dividends to our students as well as to our operational
unit customers.
As we strive to acquire and integrate the latest fielded equipment
into our classrooms and to change our training delivery methods, we
hope to make Goodfellow AFB the assignment of choice for
up-and-coming commissioned and noncommissioned officers who want to
touch the future by teaching tomorrow's leaders.
The Future
The 17th Training Wing and Goodfellow AFB have earned a reputation
throughout the Air Force as a true center of excellence, and not
just for intelligence training. We at Goodfellow expect the Wing to
take on even newer missions as the Air Force, and all Services,
downsize and consolidate. We are more than ready for the challenge.
Lieutenant Colonel Michael R. Rogers is the
commander, 316th Training Squadron, Goodfellow Air Force Base,
Texas. A career SIGINT officer, his assignments and duties have
taken him to all corners of the globe including Hawaii, Saudi
Arabia, Iceland, Greece, the United Kingdom, and Panama. Lieutenant
Colonel Rogers is a 1977 graduate of the United States Air Force
Academy.