LACKLAND, Tex. — The United States Air Force has activated a new unit dedicated to training the service’s ground component Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas.
“Our mission at the Battlefield Airmen Training Group [BA TG] is to select, train and mentor Airmen for global combat operations,” Col. Ronald Stenger, inaugural commander of the BA TG and special tactics, told Shadowspear. “We will breed quiet professionals, infused with a warrior ethos and fueled by scholarship and innovation.”
According to reporting at Shadowspear, the ground forces that are set to be trained include combat controllers, pararescuemen, special operations weathermen and tactical air control party Airmen.
The BA TG, which falls under the 37th Training Wing, will take the place of the old 342nd Training Squadron. The new organization consolidates preexisting training courses under BA leadership. The new leadership plans to emphasize recruiting, manpower & leadership, equipment, infrastructure and curriculum in the new courses. The units include three pipeline squadrons dedicated to each career field; one instructor qualification and prep course squadron including advanced employment training such as military free fall; and a support squadron.
Stenger described what it takes to be a member of these select teams.
BATTLEFIELD AIRMEN ARE THE CRITICAL GROUND LINK BETWEEN AIR ASSETS AND GROUND FORCES. BATTLEFIELD AIRMEN ARE TRAINED TO OPERATE AS A GROUND COMPONENT TO SOLVE GROUND PROBLEMS WITH AIR POWER, OFTEN EMBEDDING WITH CONVENTIONAL AND SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES. BATTLEFIELD AIRMEN CAN ACCOMPLISH MISSIONS SUCH AS SURVEYING A DRY LAKE BED IN AFRICA AS AN AIRFIELD, RESCUING MILITARY PERSONNEL FROM BEHIND ENEMY LINES OR CALLING IN PRECISION AIR STRIKES ON ENEMIES.
The original report on this story includes a video that shows some of the training exercises used by the BA TG. Shadowspear’s video can be viewed below.
The full original report can also be read on the organization’s website linked here.
(H/T Shadowspear)
June 7th, 2016