Tech. Sgt. Shaquanna Riley, Tech. Sgt. Joshua Faulkner, Master Sgt. James Delgado, Jesse Cheeseman and Gregory O’Neal, representatives of the 336th Training Squadron, stand in front of the trophy display, at Thomson Hall Feb. 24, 2014, Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. The 336th TRS was selected as the 81st Training Wing’s top technical training squadron for 2013. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Stephan Coleman)

336th TRS wins technical training award

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Stephan Coleman
  • 81st Training Wing Public Affairs
KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  The 336th Training Squadron was selected as the 81st Training Wing's top technical training squadron for 2013.

The Gen. William R. Looney III Technical Training Squadron of the Year trophy is determined by unit accomplishment, unit improvement and community support. The Red Wolves excelled in each of these categories with the combined efforts of their supervisors, instructors, military training leaders and students.

"It's about looking at your job every day for improvements," said Gregory O'Neal, 336th training manager. "We're always striving to be the best we can."

With 6,200 students a year, the training squadron has a large volume of young Airmen who are spread across 11 different Air Force Specialty Codes and three different geographic locations. The squadron has managed to save the Air Force $3.6 million by reducing the amount of time students are waiting for class and by increasing graduation rates, said O'Neal.

On top of a 98 percent graduation rate, students also have a 99.2 percent satisfaction rate from supervisors in the field, said Janice Ball, 336th TRS instructor.

In a particular commercial certification course, students went from a 59 percent passing rate for first attempt at certification to an 89 percent passing rate, said Master Sgt. James Delgado, 336th TRS cyber certification course instructor supervisor.

The unit's improvement has required flexibility with several different course schedules.

"We have five different AFSCs coming through two different cyber certification courses," said Tech. Sgt. Joshua Faulkner, commercial certification course instructor. "These students all have different experience with computers, but almost no knowledge of cyber operations. The certification is supposed to involve three to five years of experience, but we get them through the course in 10 days."

These student accomplishments are dependent on both the instructors at the schoolhouse and their military training leaders at their dormitories.

"We have to set an environment for learning," said Ball. "I have to meet the students where they are and pull them to excellence. We work hand in hand with the MTLs to help students become excellent in everything they do."

Airmanship-cultivating innovations by the 336th TRS have been lauded and even adopted by higher leadership. The squadron's approach to sexual assault prevention and response briefings, which consists of smaller interactive groups, has been mandated twice a year by the Pentagon. Heritage centers in the dormitories, which inform Airmen of history and Air Force Instruction changes, are in sync with AETC commander's priority.

"It shows them this isn't just tech school," said Tech. Sgt. Shaquanna Riley, 336th TRS MTL. "Everything that happens in the Air Force also affects them, even historical events. This helps them realize that they are a part of history even right now."

Along these same lines, the squadron has invented the "Get It" poster campaign that displays disciplinary actions on Airman throughout the 336th TRS and its career fields.

"This shows the Airmen what it really means to receive an Article 15," said Riley. "It makes the consequences seem more real to them."

Since the inception of the campaign, uniform Code of Military Justice infractions have reduced by 80 percent.
Graduates of the 336th TRS receive college credits for their classes, but only as long as the school is accredited through the Community College of the Air Force, which visits every three years for inspection. In August, the Red Wolves received a perfect passing score, said Caryn Warden, the squadron's CCAF point of contact.

This feat took 77 instructors and their supervisors to accomplish, with a lot of moving parts and record-keeping. The inspectors adopted four benchmarks from the 336th for 106 schools and 68,000 faculty members.

Training accomplishments aren't only made with Keesler students. The 336th TRS is the only trainer for the global command and control system, which is a joint system used by all branches. The squadron saves the Air Force $1.7 million in travel costs by sending training to the field, rather than students travelling to Keesler, said Tech. Sgt. Michael Eudy, GCCS instructor.

The list of 336th TRS influences affects the entire Air Force, but begins here at Keesler.

"All squadrons across the training group work collectively as one team to train and send our most important assets to the field," said Jesse Cheeseman, 336th TRS training specialist. "One team, One family, One fight. It all starts with the leadership and comes down through us. Everything we've accomplished was done as a team. The leadership has brought in a culture of excellence and it spread across the squadron."