JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
In an effort to reduce redundancies and streamline predeployment training, U.S. Air Force officials recently announced the redesign of the expeditionary readiness program.
The updated program, which took effect at the beginning of fiscal year 2016, replaced the former tiered model and aims to provide U.S. Air Force Airmen with efficient training requirements.
The new system matches individual training cycles with the air expeditionary force construct, meaning Airmen will now be required to meet "just-in-time" requirements to support deployments, eliminating most training currently provided in other venues, rather than an annual training cycle used in the past.
Also, the program aligns predeployment training with the 36-month AEF cycles and waives predeployment training for similar ancillary or functional proficiency training Airmen have already accomplished through their current duties.
"Everyone needs the right training at the right time, without redundancies," said Staff Sgt. George Fileas, 633rd Medical Group education and training office administrator. "This new model reduces predeployment training by more than 50 percent, meaning our Airmen can focus on their mission."
To foster efficiency, ERP changes include adding pretests at the beginning of computer based training modules which allow Airmen to test out of computer based trainings if knowledgeable in the subject, This is a departure from the previous system which required Airmen to go through the entire course each year.
"The first priority was to ensure our Airmen are prepared for a deployed setting," said Fileas. "This new system gives them the time to handle their mission while contributing to the larger force."