LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
Several weeks after taking command of Air Force Basic Military Training at Lackland, Col. Shane Courville said he had "the best job in the Air Force."
Two years later, 737th Training Group commander Colonel Courville's statement is reaffirmed by the 80,000 Airmen who have passed through the Gateway to the Air Force in that time span.
He calls his tenure at the BMT helm a highlight in his 24-year Air Force career.
"I tell every reviewing official that comes here right before we start (the BMT graduation parade) the same thing: 'General or colonel, you may think you have the best job in the Air Force, but I have the best job in the Air Force,'" Colonel Courville said.
"Usually I get the same answer when parade's over. A lot of them look at me and say, 'You do have the best job in the Air Force.' Command is a privilege, and to have been the commander of BMT is really the highlight and the most rewarding job of my career."
Colonel Courville will relinquish his BMT leadership role in a change of command ceremony July 1, 9 a.m., at the parade grounds. Lt. Col. Glenn Palmer, 720th Special Tactics Group commander, Hurlburt Field, Fla., will replace Colonel Courville as the 737th TRG commander.
Though departing Lackland, Colonel Courville's not leaving San Antonio. In his next assignment, Colonel Courville will serve as Air Education and Training Command chief of staff at Randolph Air Force Base.
"I'm excited to work at a strategic level with the commander, vice commander and the leadership team at AETC," he said. "I think I'll bring the perspective of what 2nd Air Force does to the command. To work at that level is always interesting."
The departing commander said one of his visions when he came to BMT was to install a program specifically designed for military training instructors. The Deliberate Development Program did this by providing additional training in leadership and character for MTIs during their four-year tour at BMT.
"I think the enlisted leadership of our Air Force has a very high expectation of our MTIs," he said. "When the various career fields release an individual for a special duty assignment as an MTI, I think the expectation is that they're going to get a highly trained, even more professional individual when they return. The Deliberate Development Program is the key for that additional training."
Colonel Courville said other highlights from the past two years include the 2010 Triennial Review Committee's validation of BMT's training direction; saving the Air Force $600,000 a year by switching from leather shoes to corfram; beginning construction on two Airmen Training Complexes and a dining/classroom facility, part of a $900 million project; and the implementation of cyber training into the curriculum.
"It truly has been a privilege to lead a program that really is on the cutting edge of the new Airmen of the United States Air Force," Colonel Courville said. "Without a doubt in my mind, it's validated every week when people tour BMT.
"You're getting the best trained Airmen in the history of the United States Air Force and the best prepared Airmen for meeting the needs of the future. I think that's the part I'll remember forever - the best trained Airmen in the history of the Air Force without a doubt."