by Tech. Sgt. Mike Hammond
Air Education and Training Command Public Affairs

12/19/2006 - PUEBLO, Colo. (AETCNS)  -- On a clear, crisp southern Colorado afternoon, throngs of visitors filed through the front doors of the enormous, immaculate building to see the results of more than six months of renovation work come to completion.

But above the buffed tiles and new carpeting on the floor and beyond the brand new gym, dining facility, and 195 new student lodging rooms, the visitors were actually seeing something more important: the gateway to flying training, now and into the future.

Friday afternoon, Maj. Gen. Irv Halter, 19th Air Force commander, joined executives from contractor Doss Aviation, Inc. and leaders from the Pueblo community in dedicating and officially opening the newly renovated 200,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility adjacent to the Pueblo Memorial Airport.

The facility, which has been likened to a "mini-Air Force Base" because of its setup and amenities, will be the site from which the Air Force will conduct flight screening operations to better prepare potential flyers for the rigor of military aviation. It will also identify those not suited for flight duty, which better ensures seats in Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training are available to those with aptitude to complete the training.

Air Force officials at Randolph AFB, Texas announced in May that Doss Aviation, Inc. had been awarded the 10-year, $178 million contract to provide a turn-key operation providing all services, facilities, and equipment to deliver flight screening to future Air Force aviators. In addition to the new facility, Doss Aviation provides all aircraft, maintenance, flight instructors, fire/crash/rescue support, student transportation, office and lodging space, and installation security.

The Air Force provides a contingent of members to oversee the students and provide military training, supervision, and rigor to the course. Detachment 1 of the 306th Flying Training Group, based at the Air Force Academy, is the unit responsible for this role.

"The IFS program was designed to screen for aviation aptitude but also provide the military rigor and camaraderie missing in some general aviation programs," said Lt. Col. John Tomjack, Det. 1 commander. "IFS graduates will arrive at their Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training assignments better prepared to successfully complete the program."

According to current students in the program's second class, the course is meeting that goal. "I feel like I'll go to SUPT with an advantage compared to peers who did not attend IFS," said 2nd Lt. John Herd. The 2006 Air Force Academy graduate worked in the 436th Operation Support Squadron scheduling office briefly before attending IFS this fall. "For instance, we learned to do stand ups and formal briefs, plus how to go through emergency procedures," Lieutenant Herd said. "The mission prep is intense, and the speed at which we have to prepare for academic and flying tests probably makes us more ready to function in an SUPT environment."

When IFS ramps up to full scale operations during the next 15-18 months, it will be the sole source of flight screening for all Reserve Officer Training Corps and Officer Training School aviation candidates -- including pilots, navigators and combat systems officers.

When the next class arrives at the new facility to begin class, the students, like the visitors Friday, will likely first be amazed at the quality and expanse of the facility provided. But by the time they leave, several short weeks later, they may be more impressed by understanding the meaning of General Halter's opening remark that "all big journeys start with a single step."

http://www.aetc.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123035779

by Tech. Sgt. Mike Hammond
Air Education and Training Command Public Affairs

10/13/2006 - PUEBLO, Colo. (AETCNS)  -- As the first students report for class, Air Education and Training Command will formally usher in a new era in flying training when Initial Flight Screening operations begin at Pueblo Memorial Airport today. 

The Initial Flight Screening program evaluates candidates hoping to enter Air Force aviation training either as pilots or combat systems officers. Doss Aviation is the contractor responsible for providing the facilities, flight instruction, aircraft, maintenance, emergency services and more for the program. The Air Force oversees IFS from a quality assurance perspective and also provides the students military training and supervision during the course of their instruction.

IFS is intended to standardize flight screening across the Air Force, according to Lt. Col. John Tomjack, commander of Detachment 1, a geographically separated detachment of the 306th Flying Training Group and the unit providing the military supervision and training to students. 

"The IFS program was designed to screen for aviation aptitude but also provide the military rigor and camaraderie missing in some general aviation programs," Colonel Tomjack said. "When we are at full scale operations, approximately 18 months from now, we will be the sole source of flight screening for all Reserve Officer Training Corps and Officer Training School aviation candidates."

Another positive aspect of IFS will be the introduction to military lifestyle provided during training. 

"Detachment 1 will prepare the students for the rigors of military life and aviation," Colonel Tomjack said. "IFS graduates will arrive at their Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training assignments better prepared to successfully complete the program."

The first IFS class begins with 15 students today. Within two years, the contract calls for every pilot and CSO candidate to go through IFS, except for Air Force Academy cadets, who train through a similar program at the Academy.

http://www.aetc.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123028911

Initial Flight Screening contract awarded

RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AETCNS) – Air Force officials here announced May 30 that Doss Aviation, Inc., of Colorado Springs, Colo., has been officially awarded the Initial Flight Screening contract after the completion of an Air Force environmental assessment.

In February, the Air Force announced its intent to award a 10 year, $178 million contract for initial flight screening to Doss Aviation, but official contract award depended on the outcome of an environmental assessment to evaluate any potential impacts the proposed flight operation might have on the environment. Based on the assessment, the Air Force has approved a Finding of No Significant Impact, or FONSI.

IFS evaluates candidates hoping to enter Air Force aviation training either as pilots or combat systems officers. Doss Aviation is expected to begin IFS operations in October 2006.

Under the contract with Doss Aviation, IFS operations will be conducted primarily at Pueblo Memorial Airport with auxiliary fields located at Fremont County Airport in Cañon City, Colo., and Fowler Airport in Fowler, Colo.

“IFS will prepare students for undergraduate pilot training and undergraduate combat systems officer training,” said Millie Vigil, Air Education and Training Command Contracting Squadron Technical Support and Training Flight commander. “The training Doss Aviation will provide our students will include about 19 training flights and all the support services our students will need during their training.”

The IFS contract is a turn-key operation providing all services, facilities and equipment to deliver flight screening to future Air Force aviators. The contractor will furnish all aircraft, aircraft maintenance, certified flight instructors, fire/crash/rescue support, flight training center, lodging, dining, student transportation, physical fitness facilities, and installation security. In addition, the contractor will provide office space for a permanent-party military contingent to oversee the students in residence at the contractor’s training facility.

“Now our pilot and combat systems officer candidates will experience a flying training environment that more closely resembles undergraduate flying training,” said Lt. Col. Victor L. Rick, AETC initial flight training chief. “The new program will also be more rigorous than the past program. Our intention is to improve the candidates’ chances of succeeding in the very challenging Air Force pilot and combat systems officer training programs.”

http://www.aetc.randolph.af.mil/pa/aetcns/June2006/060506093.htm

Introductory flight training undergoing changes

by Megan Orton
Air Education and Training Command Public Affairs

10/21/2005 - RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AETCNS)

This fall, the Introductory Flight Training program, which prepares pilot candidates for specialized undergraduate pilot training will decrease from the 50 hours now required to 25 hours. This transitional program will bridge the change from the current IFT program, which is conducted at civilian flight schools around the United States, to a new program called Initial Flight Screening, which will be conducted at a single site.

IFT used civilian flight schools around the United States to provide flight training and screening for potential Air Force pilots. The schools used their own training techniques and syllabus, within Federal Aviation Administration guidelines, to educate pilot candidates with the 50-hour program, and students received their private pilot’s license upon graduation. Airmen who could not physically or mentally handle flying, or found they did not have an aptitude for flying, were screened out at this introductory stage. Those who completed the program and got their licenses went on to SUPT.

The IFS program will also screen the Air Force’s future pilots, but the new program will be conducted at a centralized location and will feature a SUPT-like training environment. IFS flying operations at the single site are scheduled to begin Oct. 1, 2006. In the meantime, IFT will use a 25-hour program that the flight schools will conduct, using an AETC-developed syllabus.

“There are several good reasons to allow civilian flight schools to use a 25-hour syllabus now,” said Wayne Mudge, program manager for the IFT and Navigator Introductory Flight Training programs. “We still will not have close military oversight of the training at the flight schools, but the 25-hour syllabus is a step in the right direction. Candidates will finish the new program more quickly, they will learn to use an AETC syllabus, and most importantly, they’ll be better prepared for SUPT.”

This 25-hour program, entitled IFS for Civilian Part 61/141 Flight Schools, is scheduled to begin Nov. 1 and will slowly evolve to the IFS program that will begin next October.

The Air Force Academy began conducting a 25-hour program, Academy Flight Screening, on June 6. As IFS matures, these two programs will mirror each other.

There has been a debate over these types of flight screening courses for almost 90 years, virtually since the start of the Air Service. Mr. Mudge said centralized versus decentralized, civilian versus military, and screening versus training have been considerations in how to best introduce flying to pilot and combat systems officer candidates and reduce attrition rates.

“What we’re doing with this new program that we call initial flight screening, is changing back to a process that better trained and better equipped our pilot candidates,” Mr. Mudge said. “It will give every pilot and CSO candidate the same basic airmanship training in a 25-hour course.”

IFS will not only take a more military-like approach to the program, but add rigor to the curriculum and eliminate some redundancies that occur between IFT and SUPT. CSOs will also be included in the 25-hour program, as their training now encompasses more aspects of aviation and combat operations.

The biggest challenge, Mr. Mudge said, will be IFS students will fly solo much sooner than they did in IFT. The role of the supervisor will also become more important in IFS because the program is shorter and more intense.

At first, students who already have the private pilot’s license will not attend the course, he said, but within two years, every pilot candidate and CSO candidate will go through IFS.

“We’re going to start small and grow at an appropriate rate,” Mr. Mudge said. “The bottom line is we want better trained aviators, and we think that we can do it with the IFS program.”

http://www.aetc.randolph.af.mil/pa/aetcns/Oct2005/102105232.htm