Photo By Charles Borsos | British Royal Air Force (RAF) Squadron Leader Hugh McCluskie assembles a bomb during...... read more read more
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BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - There is a certain irony that in a large group of Airmen wearing the standard Air Force Operational Camouflage Pattern uniform, that any other camouflage uniform sticks out like a sore thumb.
This made it easy to identify the guest participants to the Senior Officer Orientation (SOO) program, intermixed among the Airmen on the concrete pads of Beale’s munitions storage area. In a push to build interoperability for the Great Power Competition, the Air Force Combat Ammunition Center (AFCOMAC) opened its trainings up to other U.S. branches and Allied partners.
The SOO course is designed to provide senior leadership with training on mass munitions planning and production. It is held in conjunction with the three-week Combat Ammunition Planning and Production (CAPP) course and members of both courses had their hands full on a cool central valley morning on Beale.
“This is a summer day where I am from,” remarked Royal Air Force (RAF) Squadron Leader Hugh McCluskie. McCluskie was the first participant from the RAF to go through the SOO course. He hoped that more RAF personnel would be able to come out to Beale in the future to have the opportunity to work with mass munitions, “It’s good to see how the USAF do it. I am not sure we have the scale to do it like this.” The AFCOMAC coursework is rare in its focus on producing so many munitions in a short period of time.
“It’s a straightforward process, but you have to pay attention. A simple mistake could lead to a dud or an error. You can’t turn your brain off,” said Canadian Air Force 1st Sgt. Kristjan Lindvere. “You want to ensure this all functions in theater.” He too was a first for the program: the first Royal Canadian Air Force participant.
Since establishment in 1986 and coming to Beale in 1991, the program continues to evolve to incorporate lessons, new technologies and now new partners.
While McCluskie and Lindvere are the first from their nation’s air forces to go through the SOO course, both the SOO and the CAPP courses have had members of other branches and even other career fields go through their ranks.
Beyond gaining experience working with mass munitions, opening up AFCOMAC trainings allows for greater interoperability. “In the future the big focus is interoperability,” said McClusky, “We’re working quite heavily with the F-35 programs and part of that recommendation was to do the SOO course which we gladly accepted.”
| Date Taken: | 11.13.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 11.14.2024 10:59 |
| Story ID: | 485211 |
| Location: | BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 26 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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