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Airfield driving becomes standardized

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Amber Kelly-Woodward
  • 375th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill --  The goal of Air Force Smart Operations of the 21st Century is to maximize efficiencies and eliminate waste. One way to achieve that is to use material and personnel more efficiently. 

All Air Mobility Command wings are required by Air Force Instruction 13-213, Airfield Management to have an airfield driving program. 

In the past, airfield driving records were kept in notebooks or Excel spreadsheets. Maintenance of training records was inconsistent from wing to wing making it difficult to handle compliancy evaluation discrepancies. In addition, the airfield driving program at the majority of units is an additional duty. As a result, the program often suffered due to lack of continuity. 

Chief Master Sgt. Horatio Watson, Air Mobility Command airfield manager, envisioned "there must be a way to improve the process and reduce the manpower workload." 

"It began as a concept in January of 2007," said Chief Watson. "I saw a problem with inefficiency, one wing was doing it one way, while another wing was doing it another way." 

Chief Watson met with the 375 Communications Support Squadron to create a common and more improved way to manage and administer the program. After over a year of extensive development, programming and testing the first ever, 'Web-based Airfield Driving Training Program' is bring released this month. Chief Watson's Airfield Driving program will bring airfield driving up to speed with the AFSO21 goals. 

The new airfield driving training program is accessible at home stations or even while deployed via the internet with a Common Access Card, making the program 100 percent paperless. Ultimately, the program empowers the trainee enabling the member to apply for an airfield license, conduct training, test and print their airfield license. The program also enables unit and wing program managers to see trainee progress, trends and Air Force violations. Once training is complete and the application is approved, now for the first time, the trainee can sign-on to print their own license, review their record and even complete annual refresher training without the assistance of the unit program manager. 

The new standardized airfield driving program saves more time than previous programs. It is estimated that management and administration time is reduced by 20-75 percent and the application process is reduced by 50-75 percent depending on the position of the program user. 

Based on initial testing, the workload by position will be reduced as follows: Airfield manager - 74 percent, Unit Program manager - 63 percent, Certifier - 34 percent, Trainer - 24 and Trainee - 19 percent. 

Of course, the trainee will still have to read through training manuals and perform a behind-the-wheel orientation/test. 

"The new program is not even comparable to the one we use today" said Charles McMann, 22nd Operations Support Squadron Deputy Airfield manager at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas. "I think it's great, I think it is going to be an excellent program which will save myself and the unit program manager time." Mr. McMann was one of the first airfield managers to test the new airfield driving training program. 

Although, Chief Watson was the lead on the project, the 375th Communications Support Squadron developed the program. 

"I could not be more pleased with the support from the 375th CSPTS," said Chief Watson. "They embraced the whole program, which was initially supposed to be a small program, and made it a worldwide system." 

The 375th CSPTS team included Tech. Sgt. Richard Goodale, software program manager; Staff Sgt. Jerricho Melton, project lead; Daniel Naumann, lead developer; and Matthew Thomas, developer. "It is a great feeling to see our application is used," said Mr. Naumann. "It is rewarding to know that all of our time and effort will be a part of every wing of AMC." 

The airfield driving training program is the first ".net" application out of the 375th CSPTS to go Air Force wide. 

"There is a lot of importance," said Sergeant Goodale. "Obtaining an airfield license is a big deal, it has to be done right." 

Chief Watson had intended for his program to be used within the AMC and its 28,000 plus drivers, but the Air Force has decided to use it for everyone who drives on an airfield, amounting to more than 200,000 people. 

The airfield driver's training program is designed to follow an airfield driver through their initial training, training for deployments, permanent changes of station and refresher courses. It will also be used by all services, civilians and contractors that operate on Air Force airfields. 

During implementation, Chief Watson will hold teleconferences twice per week during the first month with all training managers to ensure a smooth transition. 

Airfield driving training programs have been around for a long time, but Chief Watson saw an opportunity to improve it, showing that there is always room for improvement.