Airmen complete tactics training

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Emily Beightol-Deyerle
  • 167AW/PA
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. --  Eight airmen from the 167th Airlift Wing recently completed a two-week course geared toward increasing war-fighting effectiveness and survivability of mobility forces.

The course was split into two parts, one week at the Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center located at the 139th Airlift Wing in St. Joseph, Mo. followed by a second week of training at Fort Huachuca, Ariz.

167th Airlift Wing C-17 Globemaster III pilots, Capt. Kyle Wagner, Maj. Alex Hanna and Capt. Michael Stark, 167th loadmasters, Master Sgt. John Ratcliffe, Master Sgt. Charles Moore and aircraft maintainers, Tech. Sgt. James Turner, Tech. Sgt. Mark Kelley and Tech. Sgt. Michael Fredlock participated in the course which covered tactical training, evasive maneuvering, mission planning and meeting time of arrivals.

"The idea of the course is to understand the threats that are out there and how to better protect yourself against those threats," Wagner said.

The AATTC provides training to airlift crews from the Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve Command, Air Mobility Command, Air Combat Command, Air Force Special Operations Command, United States Marine Corps, and 16 allied nations.

The airmen worked with several other crews during the course including mission planning with a C-130 crew from Japan.

After a few days of academics the airmen flew two missions in Mo. followed by seven missions out of Fort Huachuca. The crews had to plan around a specific threat scenario for each mission.

"I gained a lot of knowledge about the threats but also learned about the limits and capabilities of the aircraft in the threat and low-level environment," Wagner said.