RAF MILDENHALL, England -- “Death by power point” and “death by briefing” are just a couple of phrases used to explain traditional First Term Airmen Center courses. What if there was a way to make mandatory briefings more interesting? Well, now there is!
“When you have multiple briefings and a short time to do it, it’s like briefer after briefer after briefer and usually not much information is retained,” said Jack Sweet, 100th Air Refueling Wing community support coordinator. “Based on feedback from the Airmen and instructors, they needed something different.”
Sweet conceptualized a new approach to encourage learning and created an “Outside the Box” format when it came to resiliency training that is part of the FTAC course.
“‘Outside the Box,’ to me, was a [literal] representation of getting outside the classroom,” said Sweet. “By creating this more open environment the Airmen are more willing to share.”
New Airmen graduate basic training and technical school with little knowledge about the difference between the training environment and the active daily working environment. FTAC is a week-long course designed to help new Airmen make this transition. RAF Mildenhall’s course consists of a uniform inspection, a mock fitness assessment and five days filled with briefings from morning to evening. One of those five days is dedicated to resilience training.
“The biggest aspect of this resiliency training is designed to help Airmen deal with and overcome everyday life stresses; it’s not just deployments, and it’s not just military duties and responsibilities,” said Master Sgt. Elizabeth Shankles, 352nd Special Operations Wing joint air operations center superintendent and master resiliency trainer.
No matter the occupation, gender, age, etc., resiliency is important. In order to help every Airman grasp the importance of training, Sweet helped change the way FTAC resiliency training was presented. The training has been modified from eight hours inside the classroom to the new “Out of the Box” approach where Airmen actually leave the confines of a traditional classroom, change into civilian attire and learn in less confined settings.
“By giving Airmen the opportunity to get outside the classroom in civilian clothing, they get the training they need in a fantastic, fun and productive way,” said Sweet.
After five classes into the “Out of the Box” initiative, this method has shown positive results.
“The feedback from Airmen showed they felt that this type of learning environment made them and the instructors more open and allowed for better conversation. It’s all been very positive,” said Sweet. “It’s working out exceptionally well.”
With the help from Sweet and the master resiliency trainers, the “Out of the Box” approach ensures Airmen are better equipped with the ability to retain knowledge and tools to succeed at their first duty assignment.